Paternal
by art1st4786
Summary: RED's Spy secretly teams up with members of both RED and BLU to uncover the truth behind the war and stop The Administrator and her allies...all for the sake of his son, BLU's Scout, who shouldn't be in the war in the first place.
1. The Plan Is Set

_Author's note: So, it's been a long while since I've uploaded a new fanfic (like, years!). Unfortunately, since my hard drive crashed last year, I lost all of my old stories and haven't had the heart to continue them._

_I have, however, started this new one! It's darker than the stuff I've written in the past. I'm far enough along to be able to post two chapters a week and still finish it on time. I've become more serious with my writing, so if you choose to review, please let me know of any mistakes I've made that can help me improve, no matter ho harsh it is!_

_Hope you enjoy this new story!  
_

Chapter 1 - The Plan Is Set

The sun hadn't even risen yet at Well, but it didn't stop the BLU team's Scout from going out for his usual morning jog. Scout was normally an early riser, which greatly surprised his teammates. With having seven older brothers and having to compete with them to be first to do anything, he learned early on how to be fast at not just running, but at nearly everything he did, including waking up before everyone else. He even joined the track and baseball teams in high school to increase his skills.

His normal routine consisted of waking up an hour before sunrise, going outside to jog around the base until the sun came up, coming back in for breakfast, showering quickly, then preparing for the daily nine-to-five shooting spree between the BLU's and the RED's. When the cease fire at five o'clock rang, he'd come back, eat dinner, joke around with his teammates, then go to bed around midnight.

Scout had left the base earlier than usual that cold, early-winter morning, however. He couldn't sleep at all during the night and he figured he could clear his mind by jogging more. Donned in a blue sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, tennis shoes and his black baseball cap, he jogged and jogged and jogged, trying to figure out the motives behind a certain member of the RED team: their Spy.

The day before, Scout had grabbed the RED Team's intelligence and was darting back to the BLU base when he bumped into the cloaked RED Spy on the bridge overlooking the train tracks. The Spy was able to regain his footing, but Scout wasn't so lucky. He had fallen over the bridge and was gripping onto the side of it with one hand while the intelligence briefcase was teetering on the opposite edge, ready to fall onto the oncoming train that was bound to take Scout out if he didn't act quickly. The Spy, to Scout's surprise, grabbed him and pulled him back up to safety while the briefcase hit the top of the train and ricocheted off of it into a pile of crates. The Spy then knocked Scout down and ran off back into his base just as the ceasefire was called.

Scout couldn't understand what the RED Spy was thinking! He had a perfect opportunity to get his intelligence back and let Scout die, but instead he saved his enemy! _Why the hell did he save me? I was going to respawn anyway,_ he thought. The way the war worked was RED and BLU would fight each other from 9 to 5 Monday thru Friday, and during the allotted time for the battle, a special barrier made by TF Industries was erected around the arena to prevent permanent deaths. When someone received a fatal wound, they would respawn in their respective base. During the ceasefire times, the barrier was disabled.

Scout growled in frustration as he ran and picked up his pace. The faster pace made the cold even more unbearable, but Scout chose to ignore it. Even though he hailed from Boston, where it was notoriously cold in the winter, the boy still hated winter. His mother had always warned him about running so much when the weather was like that since he would be more prone to getting sick. Normally he would oblige, but he needed some kind of outlet, otherwise he wouldn't perform at his best that day with his mind elsewhere.

As the sun started to peak over the horizon, Scout realized that it was time to head back to the base soon. As he was getting ready to head back, he spotted a silhouetted figure heading toward the pond on the outskirts of the bases. _Who else would be out this early besides me? He came from the RED base_, he inwardly pondered. Curiosity getting the best of him, he made his way over to the pond. As the sun rose more, the light lifted the shadows around the kneeling man to reveal it to be the RED Spy. Scout stopped dead in his tracks as the man made eye contact with him. The Spy simply smiled.

"Relax," he spoke, his low, raspy voice calm and collected. "It's ceasefire time. I'm not going to do anything." Scout narrowed his eyes slightly. He needed to know the truth, and this was the perfect opportunity for him to find out.

"I've been meanin' to have a one-on-one with ya for a while, you shape-shiftin' rat," stated Scout, a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Funny, I've been meaning to have the same with you for quite some time, boy." Scout cocked an eyebrow. "But you go first."

"First off, why did you save me yesterday? You could have grabbed the intel and let me die—and I would have respawned, too, for your information—but you saved me instead! What gives!"

"If you knew you were going to respawn, then why are you so angry for me saving you?"

"That's not the point! You're a RED and I'm a BLU! I'm the enemy, and you basically said 'screw you' to your team by letting YOUR intel get away to help ME! I don't get it!" The Spy took a puff of his cigarette, then slowly exhaled, the smoke mixing with his dragon's breath from the cold.

"I guess to put your mother's mind at ease, knowing that I'm looking out for you," he replied simply. Scout's eye twitched. He remembered his own team's Spy, whom he considered one of his best friends (the other being the Sniper), revealing to him the relationship between the RED Spy and his mother, who single-handedly raised himself and his seven older brothers.

"Yeah, since we're on that, stay the hell away from my ma!" The Spy took another puff, this time exhaling through his nose. He stared into the boy's eyes.

"Would you really have your mother's heart broken by the father of her youngest son?"

"I don't care! I just…" Scout grew quiet and froze, but not from the cold. He stared at the man in front of him wide-eyed. "Wait…what did you just say?" The Spy finished off his cigarette and put it out on the frost-covered ground. He slowly stood up and made his way to the Scout, placing his hands firmly on the boy's shoulders.

"Yes…it's true. Shortly after your mother's husband walked out on her and her sons, I had been in Boston for a short while, and I bumped into your mother. It was love at first sight. Though my line of business called for me to not stay in one place for very long, I've always visited her and kept in contact with her. I was even there when you were born. She's told me so much about you growing up." Scout's head began to hurt and he felt a little dizzy. Was this really happening? Was his enemy really his father? Scout snapped out of his thoughts when the man in front of him took his right hand off of Scout's shoulder and lifted up his dog tags, smiling slightly. "My old dog tags from the war…I'm surprised you're wearing them, Daniel—or do you go by Danny?"

"I-It's Danny…" _That's it! That's all I can say to this bombshell of a news flash I just got!_ Truth be told, Scout didn't really know what to say about the news at all. He couldn't even think of a smart-ass remark like he usually did to almost everything anyone ever said. A whole slew of emotions were flowing through him all at once—anger, confusion, sadness—all causing his stomach to turn and his headache to worsen. His vision began to blur a bit as he felt tears well up in his eyes. The Spy frowned, then pulled his son into a comforting embrace, which caught Scout off guard.

"Danny…I know this is a lot to take in right now, and I won't blame you if you hate me. However, know that we still have to fight on the battlefield. I know we'll be able to respawn during the battle, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to make sure no harm comes to you like I've been doing since day one." The Spy was caught off guard when he felt Scout return the embrace, mostly to pacify himself. He could feel the boy trembling in his arms as he sobbed quietly into his father's chest. The Spy hugged him tighter, rubbing his back gently with one hand and placing his other hand on the back of his head comfortingly.

"You fuckin' ass-hole…" Scout choked, clinging tighter to his father's suit.

"Shh, it's okay…just let it out, son…"

* * *

BLU's Spy awoke once the sun's first light entered his window. He pushed himself out of bed and put on his trademark suit and mask. He usually showered at night to help keep his identity a secret from his teammates, who always showered in the communal shower in the morning. Because of this, he was able to get ready quicker in the morning.

As part of his routine, he would usually go into the kitchen, make a pot of coffee, and pour it into two mugs—one for himself, and one for Scout. He would then meet Scout outside as he finished his morning jog and the two would enjoy their hot drinks before heading inside for breakfast with the rest of the team, who finished off the rest of the pot.

That morning, however, something didn't sit well with him, which threw his entire routine out of whack. He skipped making the coffee and stepped outside into the cold, hoping to see Scout running up to him like he normally did. That didn't happen. He looked over at the outskirts and saw two figures by the pond. He quickly made his way over and pulled out his gun as he saw that it was RED's Spy kneeling and cradling his unconscious friend. The BLU's Spy skidded to a halt and aimed his gun at the other Spy, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

"Let him go!" he ordered. The RED looked into his eyes, which caused the BLU to slowly lower his gun, realizing that his enemy meant no harm.

"He's fine," assured the RED Spy, looking down at the Scout in his arms. The boy was in a sitting position, resting his head on the man's shoulder, sleeping. His tear-stained face was a bit flushed, however, which made the BLU Spy worry. "He just needs to rest."

"Judging by his appearance, I'm assuming that you told him the truth?" asked the BLU Spy. His counterpart nodded slowly.

"I did. And judging by your comment, I'm assuming you've known about it the whole time?" The BLU Spy nodded slowly. "I see…thank you for not telling him."

"It wasn't my place to say anything." The RED Spy scooped Scout into his arms and carefully stood up, handing him to the BLU Spy.

"He's running a little bit of a fever, but he should be fine by tomorrow if he gets some rest today."

"That should be easy, seeing as how we're changing locations in a few hours."

"Yeah, to Viaduct…" RED Spy shuddered as he spoke that line. "I think Danny gets his hate for the cold from me." BLU Spy couldn't help but snicker at that comment. _Now I know one of his weaknesses should I ever need to use it to my advantage,_ he thought. His thoughts were soon interrupted when the BLU Sniper ran out. He caught his breath as soon as he stopped next to his Spy buddy.

"What's goin' on?" he asked in-between breaths. "Breakfast jus' started and I couldn't find y'two anywhere!" He then looked at Scout, then glared at the RED Spy, taking out his kukri. "What did you do t'im!"

"Calm down. He didn't do anything," replied the BLU Spy. "I'll explain everything back at the base." Sniper just nodded, not taking his eyes off of his enemy. Before the two could leave, the RED Spy placed one hand on each of the two standing BLUs'.

"I can tell you two care a lot about Danny, so that's why I'm counting on you two to keep him safe," he said in a serious tone. "Something is amiss with this war, and I'm working on getting to the bottom of it."

"What do you mean?" asked his BLU counterpart.

"I'm not entirely sure yet, but the last thing I wanted in this war was for my son to get involved, let alone be on the opposite team as me. The higher-ups of our companies should have known about the relation between the two of us when they did background checks, yet here we are pitted against each other. The last thing I want is to see him get hurt or worse." The Sniper, having just heard the news of the father-son relationship between his best friend and his enemy, was obviously in shock, as opposed to his Spy friend, who narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I had been suspecting the same thing once I found out on my own about your relationship with Scout's mother and what—or rather who—came out of it," he replied. "I think if we can get an opportunity to go through our own intelligence, we might be able to figure something out."

"Wait a minute," interrupted the Sniper. "You mean t' tell me that we're goin' t' be workin' with this, as Scout put it, 'shape-shiftin' rat', to uncover a conspiracy theory y'two got about th'war?" The two Spies merely stared at him. Sniper grinned. "Count me in!" They were quickly interrupted when they heard Scout groan lightly. BLU Spy could feel the boy shivering in his arms. He held the boy closer to help keep him warm.

"You'd better get him inside before he gets sicker," suggested RED Spy. "And not a word to our teammates about this until we get more information. We don't want the higher-ups catching wind of this." The two BLUs nodded, then quickly made their way back to their base as the RED Spy watched them leave. He stood there a little bit longer, pulling out another cigarette. "I just hope the rest of my team doesn't catch on to my plan." He made his way back to his own base as he puffed his cigarette, unaware that someone had been watching them the whole time.


	2. Torn

Chapter 2 - Torn

Spy and Sniper ran back into the base with Spy still carrying Scout. The rest of the team, with all of their things ready to get on the train to Viaduct, were waiting for them inside at the entrance. Medic quickly made his way to Spy to check on Scout with Soldier in tow, ready to interrogate the two latecomers.

"What the hell took you maggots so long!" shouted Soldier. "We had to stomach Pyro's coffee this morning instead of yours, Spy, so you'd better have a damn good reason for not being here!" A dejected moan came from Pyro after Soldier's comment. "And explain to me why Scout is out of commission! I want a full run-down on what happened!"

"I went out searching for Scout since he hadn't returned from his run," answered Spy. That part was true. "Sniper found me just as I had found Scout." Also true. "Scout must have collapsed with a fever from his run this morning." That part wasn't true. Sniper wasn't amazed at Spy lying to Soldier and making it believable; it was part of his line of work, after all.

"Is Tiny Scout okay?" asked Heavy, worried for his little friend.

"He vill be fine," answered Medic, sounding a bit annoyed. "He just needs sleep."

"Soldier, if you'd like, I could let Scout sleep in my camper while we're travelin'," volunteered Sniper. "The train doesn't 'ave a bed, if I remember correctly." Soldier pondered on the offer for a bit, then nodded.

"Very well! He can ride with you!" he answered. Spy looked at Sniper.

"I will ride with you, as well, if you don't mind," he said. "Someone has to watch over Scout while you're driving."

"Not a problem, mate," replied Sniper. He made eye contact with Spy, looking as if he was reading a message in his eyes. He then turned to Soldier. "D'ya think the intel will be safe in the camper, too? Those RED wankers are more likely to hijack a train than a camper."

"Spy check!" cried Engineer as he punched Sniper in the face with his ungloved hand. Sniper's head snapped to the side upon contact with Engineer's fist as he lost his balance, staggering a bit. Seeing no change in their ally, Engineer smiled. "I don't think the REDs would try anything during a ceasefire, but you can never be too sure. I say let Sniper take the intel with him."

"Fine, permission granted!" growled Soldier. "Sniper: Take Scout to your van! Spy: go get yours and Scout's things! Engie: grab the intel and take it to the van! The rest of you maggots get on the train! We leave at 0900 hours SHARP!"

* * *

_His vision was foggy. He felt smaller, like he was reliving a memory. He felt like he was being carried by someone. He looked up and saw that it was his mother, but she was younger. He looked at his hands and noted how tiny they were._

"_What the hell?" he thought. "Why am I a toddler again?" He then saw a man dressed in brown pants and a red dress shirt approach his mother and him. He couldn't see anything above the man's nose, but he seemed familiar. He eyed the man's dog tags around his neck. "Those…are my dog tags…" He reached for them with his tiny hands and grabbed them, tugging lightly._

"_Woah there, Kiddo!" laughed the man. The man smiled and took off the dog tags, placing them around the toddler's neck. He took the dog tags into his hand and jiggled them, giggling at the sound they made. The man ruffled the little tuft of hair the boy had, smiling warmly. "They're yours now, my son."_

"_Do you really have to go?" asked his mother sadly. "It seems like you just got here."_

"_I'm afraid I must, mon petit chou-fleur," replied the man. "I will keep in touch, as usual." The man then looked at him, cupping the toddler's face with his right hand, frowning a bit. "As much as I adore this little one, I'm afraid…it's for the best if he doesn't know who I am. I don't want him to follow in my footsteps or be ostracized by his brothers."_

"_I understand," sighed his mother. "Please be careful, my love." He could feel his father's hand slowly and hesitantly leave his face as he saw the man step back. The last thing he saw before his vision faded to white was his father walking away, looking over his shoulder._

"_Good-bye, my little one…"_

_

* * *

_

Scout opened his eyes slightly, then shut them immediately when the bright light hit his eyes without warning. The first thing he realized when regaining consciousness was that he was in a warm bed and it was moving. He could hear an engine running and papers lightly shuffling. When he finally was able to open his eyes, he realized he was in Sniper's camper. Spy was sitting at a table next to the cot Scout was lying down in, going through the papers in their team's briefcase. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Spy looked up from what he was doing and smirked.

"Ah, you're awake," he commented.

"Oi!" cried out Sniper from the driver's seat. "G'mornin', Sleepin' Beauty!"

"Yeah yeah, real funny, Snipes," groaned Scout, obviously cranky.

"How are you feeling?" asked Spy with a hint of concern in his voice. "You were running a bit of a fever there." Spy took off his leather glove and placed the back of his hand against Scout's forehead. "You don't seem to be running one now."

"I'm feelin' okay." Scout then frowned a bit, looking down at his dog tags around his neck, taking them into his right hand. "Just…I don't know." He clutched them tightly, a torn look on his face. "I'm just so confused right now! I mean, he's a RED, for cryin' out loud!"

"Are you talkin' about your dad being the RED Spy?" asked Sniper. Scout tensed up.

"You guys know!" Spy nodded slightly.

"Sniper just found out today, like you. I've actually known for a while," he confessed. Scout suddenly lunged out of bed and grabbed Spy by the collar of his suit with both hands, ready to toss him across the van.

"Why didn't you tell me then!" he screamed. He quickly regretted moving so quickly when a wave of dizziness hit him and he leaned into Spy, who held him firmly to keep him from falling.

"As I told your father, it wasn't my place to say anything." Scout clung tighter to Spy's suit, half angry, half upset.

"Yeah, some father he is…he didn't even want me to know who he was! What kind of parent does that!"

"I'm assuming he felt it was for your own well-being that you didn't know. Come on, let's get you back into bed." Scout made his way back to the bed with Spy's help and sat down on it. Just then, Sniper drove over a bump in the road, which caused Spy to lose his footing and fall on top of Scout, catching both men off guard. Scout and Spy looked at each other for a few moments as their faces turned beet red from the compromising position the two were in. Scout quickly pushed the older man off of him and buried his face into the pillow, pulling the blanket over his head.

"Freakin' gay, man!" yelled Scout into the pillow. Sniper just laughed, having seen the whole thing in his rear view mirror. Spy muttered a few swear words in French and stood back up, going back to the briefcase and reading through papers. Scout poked his head out from the blanket. "So…why are you going through our intel? Isn't that supposed to be top secret or somethin'?"

"It is, but there's something that's been bothering me for a while, as well as your father." Scout cocked an eyebrow. Spy was about to light a cigarette before he continued.

"No smokin' in the camper while Scout's in 'ere!" ordered Sniper. Spy groaned and put his unlit cigarette away as Scout snickered.

"Fine. Anyway, the higher ups for our companies have to do background checks on everyone they hire, mostly to see if there are any alliances between the potential employee and the opposing company. What we want to know is why they didn't catch the relation between you and the RED Spy. To be honest, you shouldn't even really be fighting in this crazy war, let alone for BLU." Scout's eyes widened in shock.

"'Ave you found anythin' yet, Spy?" asked Sniper. Spy furrowed his eyebrows.

"Not yet. Everything seems to be written in some kind of code. I'll need more time to decode it."

"Can you do it in ten minutes? Because that's 'ow long we've got until we get to Viaduct." Spy facepalmed.

"Oh, merde…"

"Can't you just take pictures with your camera beard or somethin' to look at them later with?" asked Scout. Spy stared at Scout in disbelief for a few moments, making the boy feel a little awkward.

"Sniper, I think we've had a breakthrough with Scout!" he cried out. "He came up with a good idea for once!" Scout grabbed the pillow and chucked it at Spy as the other two men laughed.

"Shut up, Frog Legs!" After a moment, Scout began to laugh with his friends. Sniper then cleared his throat.

"In all seriousness, mate," he began, "y'can't tell anyone 'bout what we're doin'. This is some dangerous business that we could all get into a whole 'eap of trouble with. Can y'keep quiet 'bout this?" Scout looked down at his dog tags, once again taking them into his hand. Sniper could see Scout's movements in his rear view mirror. "Your dad's gonna look through 'is team's intel, too, to see if he can find anythin'. It was 'is idea in the first place."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Scout clutched his dog tags tightly, his fist shaking a bit. He just couldn't believe he was in the middle of an inter-company conspiracy! He didn't really want to help the man that essentially abandoned him as a child and kept his mother worrying all the time about his safety, but at the same time, he wanted to know more about the RED Spy just out of pure curiosity. And if there was some way to end the war so he could make it back home to his mother and brothers, he was all for it.

He had been out on the front lines for almost half a year now, and he found it odd how both teams only fought on a nine-to-five schedule, had special barriers around battlefields that allowed fighters to respawn after being killed, and there were nine people on each team, each having a counterpart in their "classes". It was almost as if the war was some kind of game to the higher ups, and the fighters on both teams were merely pawns.

Scout gave Spy a serious look, which caught the Frenchman off guard with how serious the teen looked.

"Let's do this."


	3. Cohorts

_Author's note: Thanks to everyone for the good reviews so far! And thanks to Iz especially for the quick French lesson! My foreign language background is Spanish and Japanese, so I really appreciate the help with a language I'm not familiar with! If you guys see anything else that needs attention, feel free to let me know! I hope you continue to like the story!_

* * *

Chapter 3 - Cohorts

Both teams had arrived at the snow-covered Viaduct and made their way into their respective bases. Since it was a Saturday, both teams had the next day to get familiar with the area and come up with strategies for the week's battles. That night, however, they were going to get some much-needed relaxation in.

At the RED Base, their Spy was quietly walking through the hallways, looking for anyone that could possibly be following him. When he was satisfied with his solidarity, he proceeded to the room where his team hid their intel briefcase. Since the point of Viaduct was to capture the point at the top of a summit, there was no need to keep the briefcase out. Spy found it incredibly odd that at certain locations (like the last one they were at), the point was to get the other team's intelligence. What was even odder was the fact that they would repeat the process multiple times in a week. The previous week, the RED's were successful in capturing BLU's intelligence and bringing it back to their base. The next morning, it had mysteriously reappeared at the BLU's base in the same spot it was originally in.

"That just can't be normal," he thought aloud to himself. He sighed and opened up the door quietly, sneaking in and carefully closing the door behind him. He made his way to the briefcase and opened it up, using a small flashlight on his watch to read through the papers. "Let's see here...Huh, interesting…" Suddenly, the door loudly opened behind him. He turned around and standing in the doorway was their team's Demoman.

"'Ey!" he shouted. "What the 'ell are you doin' in my lab!" Spy looked around and couldn't find any explosives. He sighed.

"Tavish, you really shouldn't drink so much," he lectured. "Your lab is next door." The Demoman stepped backwards into the hallway and looked on either side of the door. When his attention settled on his right, he threw his hands up in the air.

"Aw bloody 'ell!" Spy couldn't help but grin, but that soon faded as he pondered to himself. He needed someone he could confide in on his team about his and his BLU buddies' plans mostly so he could have someone cover his back when he finally met with the others. He figured the drunk Scotsman would be his best bet, seeing as how nobody would be able to take anything he said seriously while intoxicated. There was another reason Spy wanted his help, though: he found important information pertaining to the Scotsman in the briefcase.

"C'mon over here, Tavish. There's something I need to discuss with you." Demoman stumbled in and shut the door behind him. He plopped himself down onto a crate across from his teammate. Spy took out his disguise kit and pulled out two cigarettes, handing one to Demoman. His teammate happily took it and lit up both of their bad habits. As the two men smoked, Spy held up a few sheets of paper. "Do you know what is on these sheets of paper?"

"Didn't that come from our intel? Why the 'ell are you going through it?"

"That's not important! Answer the question!"

"What is this aboot!" Spy sighed.

"Do you remember the 'war' you got into with BLU's Soldier?" Demoman's eye narrowed dangerously.

"That bloody backstabbin' son-of-a-bitch…! 'E sold me out—'is best friend—to get

is grubby mits on that Gunboat!"

"Yes, well, you were fighting for the same thing. And, according to these papers, you two were set up." Demoman blinked.

"What…?"

"Set up. Tricked. Manipulated. Coaxed into ruining a friendship the two of you had because you two violated your mercenary contracts with your teams."

"I didn't see nothin' about tha' in the contract!"

"It was in the fine print. No member of RED should have any kind of relationship with a member of BLU, whether it be friendly, romantic, familial, or set up in a way that either team would gain something from the other, whether it be of monetary value or otherwise."

"Now can you explain all of this again for me in English?"

"It means that because you and BLU's Soldier became friends and violated your contracts, you two were tricked by someone into hating each other and wanting to go out for each other's blood." Demoman grew silent. "Both of you were hesitant in wanting to kill each other, but when you both believed that the other truly did want to kill you, you retaliated by actually wanting to kill your best friend." It took a few minutes for everything to sink in (mostly because Demoman was still a bit drunk). After what seemed like an eternity of silence, he quietly spoke up.

"Why are you telling me all o' this?" Spy finished his cigarette and lit another.

"Because this isn't the only instance of cross-relations between RED and BLU that hasn't gone unnoticed," he explained. He didn't feel the need to delve deeper into his explanation quite yet; not until he could gain Demoman's trust. "I need your help in this matter, though. I'm trying to get to the bottom of this and find out who's pulling all of the strings, and I'm working with BLU's Spy, Sniper, and Scout. I need an ally on RED to cover my tracks as I do this." Demoman gave him a skeptical look.

"What's in it for me if I agree?" Spy took a puff of his cigarette, slowly exhaling.

"Why, regaining what you have lost: a valuable friendship." Demoman frowned.

"I think it's too late to recover what's been lost between us." Spy grinned.

"Then how about revenge against the one responsible for your woes?" Demoman grinned.

"Now we're talkin'! You've got yourself a deal!" He extended his hand to the Spy, who gripped it firmly and shook it. "I'll make sure nobody bothers ya while you're investigatin' all o' this."

"Excellent. I promise you, we will be successful, and our efforts will not be in vain."

* * *

Back at the BLU base, Spy, Sniper and Scout were hanging out in the teen's room. Normally Scout's room would be messy by now with clothes thrown everywhere, but everything was still packed. As soon as they got to the base, Scout went straight to bed (Medic's orders) and fell asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow. The boy was still asleep well into the night as Spy and Sniper were sitting on the floor, going through the pictures of the intel Spy took with his camera beard. Sniper made a face as he looked at some of the pictures, taking them into his hand.

"This is mostly blueprints for building sentries, teleporters and dispensers," he sighed. "Not really much else from what I can tell."

"Look at the name and date on the blueprints," ordered Spy quietly. Sniper took a look.

"Dell Conagher, TF Industries, 1965," he read aloud. "Wait…isn't that our Engineer's name?"

"Yes. He designed the Sentry Gun for TF Industries three years ago." Sniper narrowed his eyes a bit.

"Then explain 'ow RED's Engineer can also build it?" Spy scowled.

"Obviously RED was able to obtain those blueprints, as well as for Dell's dispensers and teleporters. We'll have to investigate the relation between the three companies further another time." Sniper went through more blueprint pictures, then stopped on a certain one.

"'old the phone….Spy, take a look at this!" Spy quickly shushed his friend, pointing to the sleeping Scout, then took the pictures. Sniper cringed, then lowered his voice to a whisper. "Explain t' me again why we're in Scout's room while 'e's sleepin' to go through these?"

"Because it forces us to be quiet and gives us a great cover to go through the intel. Nobody would think to look in Scout's room." Sniper looked up at his sleeping friend. Needing to stretch his legs, he pushed himself up and walked over to Scout, checking on him. He placed the back of his hand against the boy's forehead gently, then removed it.

"Still no fever. That's a good sign." He looked over at Spy. "I don't know about you, but I'm worried about th'little ankle-biter with everythin' goin' on with 'im."

"I agree. Now will you shut up so I can concentrate?" The two glared at each other for a bit. Sniper felt Spy was being a bit insensitive to Scout's situation, but he chose to keep quiet about his feelings on the matter. Sniper gently placed a hand on Scout's head, moved some of the boy's now messy hair with his thumb off of his forehead, then slowly removed his hand, sitting back down where he previously sat. Spy looked back at the blueprint picture Sniper handed to him, causing his eyes to widen a bit in shock. "A life-extender machine built by Radigan Conogher!" He found a photograph with notes about those specific blueprints and read further. "Originally designed for Blutarch Mann of Builders League United in order to outlive his brother, Redmond Mann of Reliable Excavation Demolition, but a second one was built for Redmond Mann by request of an anonymous woman. He was given 100 pounds of Australium by the woman for the task." Sniper choked a bit.

"Australium! How the…!" Spy cocked an eyebrow.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Very few people outside of Australia know about Australium," explained Sniper. "It's to keep th' value and demand for it 'igh."

"Do you know why it's so valuable?" Sniper frowned.

"Unfortunately, no. But according to this…" He handed Spy a picture of a book on Australium that was mixed in with the blueprints. "…Dell should know."

"Sniper, you fail as an Australian, but you make up for it with your keen sight."

"I don't know whether t' be flattered or insulted by that."

"It seems we have numerous questions for our Engineer, including one more piece of information we need clarification on."

"What's that?"

"Aside from why the second one was requested for Redmond Mann by someone other than him…why was a third one built, and who was it built for?" Sniper was at a loss for words. Things just kept getting crazier and crazier. "We need to get him alone and confront him about all of this, but how…?"

Suddenly, Scout groaned as he awoke and pushed himself up into a sitting position, shifting his weight onto his right arm to keep himself propped up. He glared tiredly at the two.

"I've been listenin' to you two for the past two hours, and I'm tryin' to get some sleep!" he growled. "Would you two knuckleheads leave! All of this stuff is makin' my head hurt!"

"Well, we know he's not sick anymore," chuckled Spy, looking at Sniper. "He's back to his obnoxious, bratty self."

"Wouldn't 'ave 'im any other way," added the sharp-shooter. The two laughed as Scout tossed his shoe that was on the ground at the two, hoping to hit either one. It ended up bouncing off of Sniper's back. The two quieted down as they looked at a very irritable Scout. The boy pointed forcefully at his door.

"Out!"


	4. Mon Petit Lapin

_Author's Note: Happy New Year, everyone! Thanks once again for the great reviews so far! Just as a heads up, classes start again in one week for me. Most of the story is already written, but the update times might be a little weird, since priority will be going to my classes, especially since I'm in graduate school._

_Enjoy the next chapter!_

_

* * *

_

Chapter 4 - Mon Petit Lapin

Scout walked into the mess hall that morning for breakfast and saw that the rest of his team were already well into their meals. He grabbed a bagel and a cup of coffee and made his way to the table, taking a seat next to Engineer, who sat across from Spy and Sniper. Medic finished sipping his coffee and looked at the teen.

"Feeling better today, Scout?" he asked. Scout smirked.

"I'm feelin' great!" he proclaimed. "Ready to get some action in!"

"Not today," announced Soldier. "Today we familiarize ourselves with the area to come up with the best strategy for tomorrow." The Soldier then stood up, making his way to the foot of the table so he could look at everyone. "Listen up, Maggots! Our boss has informed us of the schedule for today! RED will be surveying the land first until one o'clock! After that, it will be our turn until five!"

"Odd…" uttered Engineer under his breath. Soldier cleared his throat to continue.

"We will have the upper hand, however! What those RED sissies don't know is that we plan to observe them secretly as they're getting the lay of the land. Sniper will keep a look-out from his 'nest' and Spy will remain cloaked somewhere in the middle of the arena and observe the enemy from within."

"And when did you plan to tell the two of us your plan?" interrogated Spy, giving Soldier an annoyed look.

"Are you refusing your orders, Maggot!"

"On the contrary; I happily oblige. I'd just like to be informed well ahead of time for these things so I can prepare."

"Yo, Solly, you've gotta work on your insults more," joked Scout as he took a gulp of his coffee. "Callin' everyone a maggot's gettin' a little old." Soldier grabbed the collar of Scout's shirt and leaned in so he was looking down at the Bostonian underneath his oversized helmet.

"Do not insult my insults, you cocky little rabbit!" shouted Soldier. Scout merely cocked an eyebrow.

"Rabbit? Really? Is that the best you could come up with?" Spy chuckled as he finished his coffee, standing up.

"Well, off to do my job," announced Spy. Sniper quickly excused himself and the two walked out of the mess hall, chuckling the entire time. Soldier roughly let go of Scout as he stormed out of the room. Heavy suddenly guffawed, placing a hand on his belly as he laughed.

"I get it now!" he bellowed. "It's because tiny Scout is quick and jumps around like little bunny!" Demoman and Pyro laughed as well once Heavy made the connection. Demoman finished his meal and he, Pyro, Medic, and Heavy stood up, walking past Scout. Pyro stuck up his index fingers and pretended to make bunny ears with them behind Scout's head. Scout flailed his hands to get Pyro to stop as everyone else began to laugh hysterically.

"Knock it off!" he cried out. After the others left, it was just Scout and Engineer left in the mess hall. As Engineer was leaving, Scout grabbed his shoulder. "Yo, Engie, wait up!"

"What's up, Scout?" asked the Texan, stopping in his tracks.

"Think I could hang with you while we're surveyin' the area?" Engineer smiled.

"Sure thing. Got something on your mind?"

"Nah. Just figured I could help ya find some good places for your sentries, y'know?" Engineer laughed and placed his hand on Scout's head, messing up his hat and headset.

"Y'know, you're a good kid, Scout. You can be a real pain in the ass a lot of times, but your heart's in the right place. I accept your help." Scout fixed his hat and headset, grinning.

"Thanks, Engie." Engineer then grinned like a child. He made a bunny head out of his gloved hand and began to make it dance around as he sang.

"Little Scouty Foo-Foo runnin' through the Viaduct…" Scout let out a frustrated yell as he chased a laughing Engineer down the hallway.

"I'm gonna lay YOU out, Hardhat!"

* * *

RED had long finished surveying Viaduct, and BLU had just begun. RED's Spy, however, remained cloaked atop the bridge overlooking the control point. He waited patiently for BLU's Spy to show himself. He hoped he could speak with his "colleague" about any information he found in his team's briefcase. As if the powers-that-be were listening to his inner thoughts, BLU's Spy made his way onto the catwalk and stopped, sensing someone was there.

"Psst!" whispered RED's harshly, trying to get the BLU's attention. BLU's Spy looked in the direction of his RED counterpart where he heard the voice. RED's Spy continued to whisper. "Meet me behind the barrels near the capture point on your side." Still cloaked, RED's Spy made his way to the meeting place. BLU's Spy took the long way around, pretending to survey the land and make himself seem less suspicious. When he hid behind there, he saw RED's Spy cloak himself and signaled for BLU's Spy to do the same. "Did you get a chance to go through your team's briefcase yet?"

"Yes, I did," replied BLU's Spy. "Most of the information in there was blueprints of buildings our Engineer made, including life-extender machines for Blutarch and Redmond Mann and a mysterious third person. You?"

"A mysterious person manipulating things on both sides, like the rivalry between my team's Demoman and your team's Soldier. They were tricked into trying to kill each other because they violated their mercenary contracts by becoming friends." BLU's Spy rubbed his chin, furrowing his eyebrows in thought.

"How strange," he uttered. "It appears we need to delve deeper into the histories of both companies, as well as TF Industries. Could our mystery person from our respective intels be the same one? We also need to know how Australium fits into all of this, and our team's Engineer seems to know a bit about it."

"How are you going to confront him about this?" The two Spies quickly quieted down when they heard BLU's Engineer and Scout walking by. Scout looked around, then pointed up at the catwalk RED's Spy was previously on.

"That looks like a good place for a sentry, right?" he asked. Engineer looked up, contemplating.

"It could work, though I have to test out the sensory range in battle tomorrow," he answered. "It's worth a try."

"I'm amazed at how high-tech that thing is and how quickly you can build one in battle!" Engineer laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, I designed it, and after building them so many times, you just instinctively know where everything goes and you can speed up the process."

"Did you also design the dispenser and teleporter?"

"My grandfather did, but I improved his designs to what you see now." He then gave Scout a suspicious look. "Why the sudden interest in my buildings?" Scout smiled innocently.

"I've always liked 'em; I've just never had a chance to ask ya about how they work. The teleporter especially since it gets me from point A to point B faster. Doesn't that kind of defy physics, though?" Engineer laughed.

"Kind of, yeah, but I used some special materials to help me design and make it." Scout looked around to make sure no one was listening, then leaned in a bit.

"Was Australium one of them?" he asked in a hushed manner. Engineer tensed up.

"Spy check!" He punched Scout in the gut, causing the Bostonian to double over and cough in pain. Once Engineer was satisfied with the results, he helped Scout up, but didn't let go of him as he leaned in, keeping an arm around his shoulders and speaking quietly.

"How do you know about Australium?"

"One of my brothers told me about it after visitin' Australia on a business trip, though I'm not entirely sure what makes Australium so special. What does it do?" Engineer looked around cautiously, then leaned in again.

"Promise you won't tell anyone else about this?" he requested. Scout simply nodded. "Okay. Australium is a special element that looks like gold, but it can be transformed into various states and forms. It can also enhance a person's mental capabilities. My grandfather was given some a long time ago as payment for some commissioned buildings by an anonymous donor. I inherited it upon his death about ten years back." Scout stared at him in awe.

"Do you have any with you?" Engineer laughed once more and patted Scout on the back.

"Nah, I've got it locked away in a safe at home. Though I guess you could attribute it to me gettin' those eleven science and engineering Ph. D's." Scout's eyes widened.

"Eleven!" Engineer grinned like a child in a candy store and nodded.

"Yup! Now, y'got anymore questions for me?" Scout thought for a bit, then finally spoke up.

"I know not a lot of people outside of Australia know about Australium, and now I know why it's so valuable and what it does, but is Australia the only place you can find it?" Engineer shook his head.

"Nope. While Australia is the main place to mine it and where it was first discovered, there are places all around the world where you can find it, even a few places in the United States. We've actually fought at some locations where it can be mined." Scout's eyes widened.

"Why didn't anyone tell us we were fighting at an Australium mine? Did our bosses know about this?" Engineer shrugged.

"Probably, but you know how they like to not tell us anything. Anything else?" Scout shook his head. Engineer patted him on the back once more and took a few steps back. "Okay, then. Thanks again for your scouting help, Scout! I'm going to head back to the base and get some repairs in on our weapons."

"Later, Engie!" Scout waved as Engineer walked away. Scout looked around, then made his way to where the two Spy's were hiding. He rested his arms on the tops of the barrels and leaned forward, startling the two. "Boo."

"Danny! What are you doing!" scolded RED's Spy quietly. "You're going to blow our cover! How did you even know we were here!" Scout casually pointed to his teammate.

"I could smell his cologne a mile away." BLU's Spy scowled. Scout smiled. "Did you guys hear the convo' between me and Engie?" His teammate nodded.

"Yes, but I'm amazed that you were able to get that information out of him," the BLU Spy admitted. "How did you know what we were looking for?"

"Remember how I said I could hear you and Snipes in my room last night while I was tryin' to sleep?" BLU's Spy rubbed the back of his head while RED Spy grinned.

"I think you get your spying skills naturally from me, Danny," he hypothesized aloud. Scout just glared at him.

"I ain't doin' this to help ya." RED's Spy frowned. "I just want this crazy game to end and go home."

"Game?" questioned his teammate. Scout turned to him and nodded.

"It just feels like we're all pawns in a game, y'know? Have you ever really heard of a war with ridiculous rules and shit like this? Plus the whole respawn thing—what's up with that?" BLU's Spy just stared at Scout in silence before speaking up.

"Who are you, and what have you done with our Scout?" Scout cocked an eyebrow. "You're not usually this intellectual."

"What, you sayin' I'm stupid or somethin'?"

"Shh! Do you want to blow our cover!"

"And our conversation has come full circle to the beginning," interrupted RED's Spy. "I think I'll use this opportunity to return to my base. I'll investigate TF Industries and see what the connection is. In the mean time, see what information you can find about Redmond and Blutarch Mann." As he cloaked himself and came out from hiding, he placed a hand on Scout's shoulder and leaned in, whispering in his ear, "Stay safe, Danny." Scout looked at his teammate once he felt RED's Spy was gone.

"So, was I able to help after all?" he asked. Spy smiled.

"Yes, you were a big help," he answered. "We now know where to concentrate our research efforts and helped partially confirm our suspicions about the higher-ups. Good job." Scout smiled, savoring those last two words he rarely heard. "I must be honest, though. I wasn't sure if you were going to be willing to help aside from keeping quiet about everything." Scout's smile faded into a frown.

"You guys are doin' all of this because of me, and I felt like I should be helpin', y'know?" Spy emerged from his hiding spot and put an arm around Scout's shoulders, guiding him back to the base.

"We do this because we care about you, mon petit lapin," admitted Spy. Scout cocked an eyebrow.

"What did you just call me?"

"Mon petit lapin. It's French for 'my little bunny'." Scout let out a frustrated yell.

"Ugh! You, too! And who the hell said I was 'yours'!" Spy laughed, getting Scout into a headlock and giving him a noogie. Scout freed himself and pushed Spy down into the snow. He began to laugh as Spy got up and brushed snow off of himself.

"Let's not mess up my suit, shall we?" Scout rubbed his arms to keep from freezing.

"How 'bout we get back inside where it's warm? Damn, I hate the cold!" he whined. Spy took off his coat and held it out for Scout to get into as a gentleman would for a lady. Scout gave him a weird look, but Spy simply stood there, welcoming his friend into his coat.

"You're going to get sick again if you don't accept my offer," he stated as-a-matter-of-factly. Scout smiled slightly, his cheeks turning a soft shade of pink. He then slipped his arms through the sleeves of the coat and adjusted the front.

"Thanks, man." Spy studied the boy wearing his suit coat, then smirked.

"You know…I should have you try on one of my older suits sometime. You would look quite handsome in one." Scout chuckled as the two walked back into the base, not realizing that they were being watched by two people: a mysterious figure behind another set of barrels and a jealous BLU Sniper from his nest.


	5. Dangerous Encounters

Chapter 5 - Dangerous Encounters

The next day had arrived. Both teams had clocked in and were awaiting the day of fighting to start. As soon as The Announcer started the match, both teams made their way onto the field and began their given tasks. Engineer quickly made his way onto the catwalk Scout suggested the previous day and quickly set up a level 3 sentry. He had come under fire quickly from the RED team's Soldier, but BLU's Pyro was quick to shoot the rocket back with his own flamethrower at their assailant. Pyro lifted his flamethrower up in the air triumphantly and let out a muffled battle cry as the enemy Soldier exploded into bits. Engineer grinned.

"Great job there, Pyro!" he congratulated. Once the REDs started making their way to the newly enabled control point, the sentry began to shoot and kill the enemy. BLU's Scout quickly made his way onto the control point and gave Engineer a thumbs up, grinning his usual cocky grin. Engineer returned the gesture. "Thanks, Scout! Great place for a sentry!"

"No prob, Engie!" shouted the Bostonian. He was excited about the control point soon becoming his team's until RED's Scout got onto the point, beginning to null BLU's efforts. "Aw, jeeze!"

"Yo!" taunted his RED counterpart. "For the record, you suck! Just like the Red Sox!" BLU Scout's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What…did…you…say?"

"You heard me! The Yankees are _way_ better!" BLU's Scout angrily took his bat out and quickly darted at the now laughing and retreating RED's Scout. BLU's Scout screamed a pissed off battle cry as he chased his enemy back into RED'S territory. "I am seriously going to murder you!"

"Only if you can catch me, loser!" RED's Scout laughed so hard he wasn't paying attention to where he was running. He tripped over a cloaked RED Spy and fell flat on his face. When he got back up, he quickly met his end at the hands of the BLU Scout's Force-A-Nature, his dead body being knocked back about twenty yards from the near point-blank force. RED's Spy got up and brushed the snow and dirt off of his suit.

"I seem to be making it a habit for Scouts to trip over me while I'm cloaked," uttered the Spy. The two men looked at each other. "And for the record, thank you. I hate that Scout. That'll shut him up for a bit." Scout cocked an eyebrow.

"What do you have against Scouts?" the boy asked.

"Just that one in particular. Mon _dieu_, he's so annoying!" The RED Spy put a hand on his head and paced lightly, going on a rant about his young teammate. "He's cocky, aggressive, childish, egotistical, obnoxious, loud, crude, imbecilic…"

"Yo, you can stop anytime now, you freakin' spook!" shouted the newly respawned RED Scout. BLU's Scout quickly shot and killed him again, an annoyed look on his face.

"Shut it! I'm enjoying this bash-fest at your expense!" ordered Scout. The father and son stared at each other for a bit before bursting into hysterical laughter simultaneously. "Oh, man! I just realized how funny that was!"

"That was excellent comedic timing on your part, son!" chuckled Spy.

"Heh-heh, yeah! Thanks, Dad!" Scout quickly froze and tensed up, staring at the man. "I-I mean, Spy! I-I mean RED Spy! RED SPY! Dammit!" Spy just smiled at the young man.

"You have no idea how much I wish you were the Scout on our team instead of that insolent brat. The only thing that's keeping me from killing him myself is the fact that he's on my team." His smile quickly faded when he heard The Announcer's voice over the PA system at his base.

"Alert! Our control point is being contested!" she blared. Scout's eyes widened.

"Wait a minute…"

"What is it, Danny?" asked Spy curiously.

"That voice…that's the voice of our team's announcer!"

"But how can that be? That's our team's announcer!" Spy's eyes widened in realization. "But…"

"How can we have the same announcer! She's supposed to be our boss, too!"

"Same with us! Is she…running both teams?" The two just stared at each other as the sudden realization sank in. Scout looked around to make sure no one was looking, but in the process, he spotted the RED Pyro making his way into his team's Sniper's nest. "Oh crap! Snipes!"

"Go!" ordered Spy. "We're still on the battlefield, after all!" He cloaked himself as Scout ran quickly to his friend's nest. He quickly took out his bat and caught up with his friend's assailant. Before the Pyro could ignite his flamethrower, Scout batted his head in a few times to kill him. He stepped over the dead body and kicked it down the stairs. Sniper smirked.

"See you in five minutes," he taunted. He looked at his savior and tipped his hat to him. "Thanks, Mate." Scout looked at him and smirked a bit, but it quickly faded away.

"Snipes, the RED Spy and I just discovered something major!" he exclaimed, flailing his arms a bit. Sniper's face quickly turned serious.

"What is it?"

"It's about th—AUGH!" Scout was cut off by a bullet lodging into his left side from behind. Sniper quickly caught him as he fell forward from the impact, dropping his sniper rifle. He held his bleeding friend protectively as he dodged more bullets being shot in their direction. Scout managed to swivel around in Sniper's arms and shoot their assailant with his pistol one-handed. After a few bullets to the face, their attacker fell down the stairs, dead. Scout smirked a bit with satisfaction, then cried out in pain and gripped his wounded, bleeding side.

"Scout!" cried out Sniper. He quickly took off his vest and moved Scout's hand out of the way, applying pressure to the wound with the vest and holding him closer. Scout looked up at his friend, who looked intent on stopping the bleeding. "Bloody 'ell, we need Medic up here!"

"Snipes! Focus on the match! I'll just respawn anyway!" Sniper quickly looked at him.

"You're more important than th'bloody match, Scout!" Scout's eyes widened slightly, his cheeks blushing lightly. "In case you forgot, once five o'clock hits, you _don't _respawn!" Sniper grabbed his walkie-talkie that he kept with him (to keep in contact with his team) and pressed the button. "Medic! Where are ya!"

"Zhe respawn room," the German replied.

"Wait there! I'm bringin' a wounded one t'ya!"

"Sixty seconds remain!" boomed the Announcer over the speakers. Scout could hear Sniper quietly swearing to himself.

"C'mon, we've got t'hurry! I don't want ya bleedin' t'death after th' match! Just 'ang on!" Scout quickly felt himself being lifted up and clung to Sniper's neck to keep from falling. Sniper had one arm wrapped around Scout's back in a way to keep his hand on the boy's wound with his other arm underneath Scout's legs. He quickly made his way down the stairs and jumped down from the catwalk onto the snow.

"Thirty seconds remain!"

Sniper did his best to run quickly with the extra weight he was carrying and tried his best to keep Scout from getting injured further. Sniper could feel his friend slowly going limp in his arms, probably ready to pass out from blood loss. Sniper spotted Heavy up ahead with Medic behind him, charging up his teammate that was shooting bullets rapidly at Sniper and Scout's attackers.

"Medic!" the Australian cried out. The ten second countdown had begun. Medic stopped charging Heavy up, but the Russian still continued to shoot, keeping himself in front of his three teammates. Medic began to use the Medigun on a now unconscious Scout. He had the boy fully healed just as time was called, ending the match for the day.

* * *

Scout slowly opened his eyes, feeling a bit groggy. When his vision adjusted, the first thing he saw was Sniper sitting at his bedside in the infirmary. Scout carefully sat up and noticed that he was shirtless. His hat and headset were resting on the table behind Sniper. He inspected himself and couldn't see the wound at all. Sniper gave him a worried look.

"'ow are you feelin', Mate?" he asked.

"A little tired, but otherwise fine," replied Scout. "Where is everyone?"

"Spy went t'go get you some food. Everyone else 'as turned in for th'night."

"So we're done for the day?"

"Ja," replied Medic, sounding rather annoyed. "Zhe RED team von." Scout scowled.

"Those RED scumbags…!" Medic glared at the Bostonian.

"Vhat have I told you before! Losing is verboten!"

"What, are you sayin' this is all _my _fault!"

"You almost had zhe point captured! After you chased off zhe RED Scout, ve never vere able to get it!" Scout just glared at the doctor, who began to go back to his work table. "Dummkopf…"

"Aren'tcha bein' a little 'ard on the guy?" questioned Sniper protectively. Medic turned to look at the Australian, angrier than ever.

"Zhat _boy_ has been a careless burden as of late! Not doing vhat he was hired to do and not taking his own health and safety into consideration, vhich, as you saw today, Herr Sniper, puts zhe rest of zhe team in danger, including you!" Sniper narrowed his eyes dangerously at Medic as Scout lowered his eyes.

"For your information, you quack, that _man_ saved my life _twice_ today! So I suggest you get out of my sight right now, or so 'elp me, I will make you regret sayin' those words!" Medic scoffed, then took a clear sandwich bag with a cleaned-off bullet in it off of his desk and stormed over to Sniper, placing it forcefully in his hand.

"By zhe way, you had better take a look at zhe bullet I pulled out of his side. I don't recognize vhich gun it came from." And with those words, he pivoted on his heel in a huff and left. Sniper continued to glare at the empty doorway for a bit before looking back at Scout. His expression softened when he saw how downtrodden the Bostonian looked.

"Scout?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm not a burden…am I?" asked Scout softly. Sniper got out of his chair and sat down next to Scout on the bed, putting an arm comfortingly around his shoulders.

"Of course not. Medic's just a sore loser." That didn't seem to help Scout, though, as he lowered his head, running a hand through his messy brown hair as he rested his other arm on his now propped-up knees, sighing. Sniper frowned at how visibly upset Scout looked.

"I dunno…all I seem to be doin' lately is make you and Spy worry. I even put you in danger when you were takin' me to Medic! You almost got shot because…"

"Scout, that's enough," he interrupted quietly. He hugged Scout tighter with the arm he had around the boy and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "Like I told you before, you're more important. Spy and I are goin' t'worry anyway because we care about you. You've been goin' through a lot lately, so I understand why you're feelin' like this, but you don't need t'worry about us, either." Scout turned his head a bit to look at Sniper, who was smiling warmly at him. Scout stared a bit, then closed his eyes and rested his head on his friend's shoulder, feeding off of the comforting affection Sniper was showing him.

"Thanks, Snipes…" he uttered softly.

Neither of the two noticed Spy poking his head quietly into the room, holding a plate of soup in his hands. When Spy saw how Sniper was holding Scout, he glared daggers at the man, jealousy quickly creeping in as he gripped the plate tightly. After staring for what seemed like an eternity, he regained his composure and fully stood in the doorway, clearing his throat.

"Ahem…gentlemen?" he greeted. Sniper and Scout looked over at the Frenchman and Scout fully sat up, perking up a bit once he saw the food. Spy smiled and made his way over, handing Scout the bowl of soup. Scout eagerly took it and began to eat.

"Thanks, Spy!" he said, showing gratitude. Spy nodded, then looked at Sniper, noticing the bullet in the bag in his right hand.

"What's that?" asked Spy curiously. Sniper looked at the bag in his hand, forgetting it was there, then held it out to Spy, who carefully took it and inspected it.

"Medic found that in Scout's side," he explained. "'e couldn't figure out which gun it came from." Spy furrowed his eyebrows.

"I can safely tell you it doesn't come from any of RED's guns." Scout nearly choked on his soup.

"What!" he spat. "Then it came from one of BLU's!" Spy shook his head.

"No…it came from an outside source. But who…?"

"Wait a minute," chimed in Sniper, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You mean t'tell me that there's someone out there not on either team that's tryin' t'kill us?" Scout felt the color leave his skin as he set down his half-eaten soup in his lap, staring at his reflection in it.

"I…I think he was just trying to kill me," he said hesitantly. Sniper and Spy quickly looked at him worriedly. Sniper then rubbed his chin.

"Come t'think of it, you were tryin' t'tell me somethin' before you got shot. Do you remember what it was?" Scout frowned deeply, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly to calm himself down.

"Dad—I mean RED's Spy—and I learned something on the battlefield about our boss…and by our, I mean for both RED and BLU."

"Scout, I don't quite understand what you're saying," admitted Spy.

"I mean our boss is their boss!" Sniper and Spy's eyes widened in shock.

"How did you two learn of this?"

"I chased that idiot RED Scout into his territory to take him out and ran into Da—RED Spy. I took that obnoxious bastard out twice and as D—RED Spy and I were laughing about it, we heard The Announcer on _their_ P.A. system saying _their_ point was bein' contested!" His friends just stared at him dumbfounded.

"If Th'Announcer, who is our boss…is also their boss…" uttered Sniper slowly, his voice trailing off as he let the news sink in.

"…Then The Announcer is merely playing a game with both companies and with our lives," completed Spy.

"And judging by her demeanor during th'matches, she enjoys it." Spy began to pace back and forth a bit.

"This is quite troubling, especially considering the research I've done on the teams and how it all fits in…" Scout and Sniper turned their heads to watch him as he paced. "According to what I found, Zephaniah Mann was convinced by his sons, Redmond and Blutarch, to purchase a large sum of land in the then uncharted Americas back in the late nineteenth century. When he died, he left his entire estate to his maidservant, Elizabeth, his munitions company to Barnaby Hale, and evenly split the land between Redmond and Blutarch for them to squabble over for the rest of their lives."

"No wonder Blutarch wanted a life-extender machine," commented Sniper.

"Yes, but someone apparently wanted Redmond to live, as well; someone who wanted the 'competition' between the two to never end."

"But what about the third life extender machine?" asked Scout. Spy shook his head.

"I haven't been able to figure out anything about that yet," began Spy, "but if someone wanted these two to forever fight, then that someone began pulling the strings on this war a long time ago."

"I think we need t'let Engineer in on what's goin' on," suggested Sniper. "'e seems like he might know more than he's lettin' on about those machines." Scout shook his head quickly.

"No way!" he yelped. "We've already got that crazy mysterious guy out there from the battle today! Who knows if and where he respawned! I don't…I don't want another target for him!" Spy and Sniper were once again staring at Scout at a loss for words. Scout ran a hand through his hair nervously. "I mean, what if he's trying to silence us because we know too much, y'know? And Dad…what if he goes for him, too?"

"You're worried about him, aren't you?" asked Sniper softly. Scout looked up at him, then lowered his head once more, embarrassed.

"Y-yeah…I've been thinkin', and…maybe I should give him a chance. I mean, he's puttin' his neck on the line with all of this investigatin' the war and stuff because of me, so he can't be that much of a rat…right?" Spy walked over and ruffled Scout's hair gently, causing the boy to look up at him. Spy simply smiled.

"Don't worry. We'll all make it out of this alive, including your father." Spy gave Sniper a serious look. "We should probably contact him and arrange a place for everyone involved to meet secretly during cease fire. Contact like what happened on the field today with Scout is far too dangerous. Someone is obviously trying to keep us from finding out the truth." He looked at Scout once more. "And I'm sorry…but we need Engineer's help with this. Can we count on you to fill him in on everything?" Scout frowned, then nodded silently. Spy looked at Sniper once more. "I'll leave you in charge of finding a good meeting place. Once you've found one, I'll alert RED's Spy." Sniper nodded. Scout yawned loudly, staring tiredly at his now cold soup. Sniper took the bowl away from him and placed it on the table next to the boy's hat and headset.

"Medic is keepin' you overnight in 'ere since you lost quite a bit of blood, so you should get some rest," suggested Sniper. "Can't have you worn out like this on th'battlefield tomorrow." Scout just nodded and laid back down in bed on his side, pulling the covers over his shoulders. He turned his head to look at his friends, who gave him reassuring smiles.

"We'll stay here tonight, so you can rest easy," assured Spy. Scout smiled slightly, then turned his head back into his pillow, quickly falling asleep. As soon as Sniper and Spy heard light snoring coming from their friend, their smiles faded as they looked at each other worriedly, unaware that they were once again being watched.


	6. Confessions

_Author's Note: It's a day late, but here's chapter 6! I've been updating this story about every three days, and I was set back due to a knee injury._

_Once again, thank you for the wonderful reviews I've been receiving! Keep them coming, please!_

_And for the record - and I'm not sure if anyone else has had a problem with this - but doesn't seem to like having an exclamation point and a question mark right next to each other and edits out the question mark automatically, no matter how many times I edit it. I don't know how to fix it, so if you see something that looks like it should have that combination there, chances are it's supposed to be. I apologize if this confuses anyone.  
_

* * *

Chapter 6 - Confessions

Scout woke up early the next morning and sat up in bed, looking around the dark infirmary. He could see Medic asleep at his desk, Sniper sleeping in the chair at the table next to Scout's bed and Spy passed out in one of the other beds. Scout figured Sniper and Spy took shifts overnight in watching over him, then eventually passed out from exhaustion while Medic fell asleep doing paperwork.

Scout frowned, guilt quickly setting in. He rarely felt guilty about anything he did, but with the major turn of events in his life in the past few days and how his two best friends had been going out of their way to watch over and take care of him, it was hard for him to feel anything but remorse.

As much as he was used to being "babied" by his mother and older brothers, he was also used to doing things on his own and taking care of himself, especially when his brothers moved out and started their own lives and careers. For the last two years of high school, it was just him and his mother at their house in the southern part of Boston. There were times his mother wouldn't come back at night, leaving Scout to fend for himself for dinner that night, breakfast the next morning, and making his lunch for school. Now that he was a mercenary for Builders League United, he had been treated like a son by some of his colleagues (like Engineer and Soldier), a brother by others (like Heavy and Pyro), and had become close friends with both Spy and Sniper. BLU was his family now, and Scout wanted to make sure no harm came to his teammates – one of the few selfless acts he acted upon.

He decided to let his comrades sleep as he quietly snuck out of bed, grabbed his hat, headset, and shoes and slipped out of the infirmary. He desperately needed to go for a jog to think about things and clear his mind. He didn't care how cold it was outside; he just had to run. Once he got himself ready for his usual morning jog, he quietly opened up the metal gate that lead to the outside and felt an intense blast of frigid air hit him. He opened the gate the rest of the way and witnessed the blizzard that had settled in overnight. Even in the dark, the lights from outside illuminated the massive amounts of blowing snow. Scout scowled.

"Oh hell no!" he spat, closing the gate and staying inside. He crossed his arms and pouted, pondering where he could run. He decided on going into the training area in the basement and running laps. "It's large, it's dry, it's quiet, and, most importantly, it's _warm_."

He made his way through the base and into the basement level. Once he opened the door into the training area, he saw that all of the lights were on, which was unusual. He poked his head in and looked around, spotting Engineer tinkering with his machines and blueprints. Engineer, upon hearing the door opening, looked up and spotted Scout.

"You're up early," commented Engineer. Scout fully made his way into the room and over to his teammate.

"I could say the same for you, too, Engie," he noted. "Are you usually up this early?"

"Nah. The storm woke me up, so I figured I'd get some work done and take a nap later. My room's in the corner of the base, so all of that howlin' and whistlin' with the wind is loudest there." Engineer suddenly paused. "Wait…you were in the infirmary, right?"

"Yeah. Medic, Snipes, and Spy are still in there sleepin' like babies." The older man gave Scout a look.

"You mean you left Sniper and Spy in the same room together?"

"Medic's in there, too, but I don't understand what you're gettin' at." Engineer just shook his head.

"I guess you haven't seen or felt the tension between those two lately. It's been going on for a while now, since the three of you started hanging out a lot together during ceasefires. I've never seen it when you're with them, but when those two are alone together, you could cut the tension in the air with Demoman's Eyelander." Scout's jaw dropped slightly. Why were Sniper and Spy acting this way all of a sudden, and without Scout knowing? Was there some kind of bad blood between the two of them that he was unaware of? Was it his fault? Scout suddenly felt uneasy and needed a change of subject.

"So…you're going to take a nap after the match today?" Engineer stared at Scout, noticing his discomfort. He could tell what he said bothered the boy, so he decided not to push the matter further.

"You didn't hear?" Scout shook his head. Engineer took his hard hat off, rubbed his bald head with his ungloved hand, then placed his hat back on his head. "I shouldn't be surprised. You were out cold during the announcement last night. This blizzard is making it impossible for us to see and too dangerous to fight with these temperatures, so a ceasefire is in place for tomorrow. We'll have to wait and see how the rest of the days this week go in these conditions."

Scout frowned, suddenly remembering his task that he really didn't want to fulfill. As much as they needed Engineer's help in getting to the bottom of the war, he didn't want the Texan to become a target for their mysterious new enemy. His eyes wandered over to a picture sticking out of Engineer's open tool box. He walked over to it and gently picked it up, looking at the picture of Engineer with a beautiful brunette woman in her forties holding a little blonde girl in her arms, both smiling.

"Who's this?" asked Scout curiously. Engineer smiled proudly.

"That's my wife, Trixie, and my three-year-old daughter, Emma," he replied. Scout looked at Engineer in amazement. His expression softened as he saw Engineer's smile turn sad. "Her fourth birthday is coming up soon. It's a shame I won't be home for it. She's getting so big."

"How long has it been since you've seen your family?" Engineer rubbed his chin.

"Let's see…quit TF Industries in '65, took some time off, holidays…almost a year now." Scout's eyes widened. "I've always gone home during long breaks, but we haven't had a break in a while now. As good of a salary as we get, I usually send most of it back home to my family and use the rest of it on metal for my machines." Scout looked back down at the picture in his hands and stared at the smiling faces of the Engineer's two favorite girls in his life. "Do you send any of your salary home to your mother?" Scout looked up.

"Yeah, pretty much all of it. She wrote me a letter sayin' she was savin' everything I've sent her and puttin' it way for me to use when I get home, whenever that is."

"Got any ideas for what you're going to spend it on?"

"Kinda…I've been doin' a lot of thinkin' lately, and…maybe I should do somethin' with my life. Maybe go to college or somethin'." It was Engineer's turn to stare at Scout in shock. He was getting ready to get up before Scout stopped him. "Don't even _think_ about Spy Checkin', Hard Hat!" Engineer laughed and sat back down.

"That's the Scout I know! To be honest, I've been worrying a lot about you lately. You haven't been yourself. You're quieter than usual and constantly staring off into space thinking about something, but you also seemed to have matured a little bit the past few days. What's brought all of that on?" Scout looked between Engineer and the picture in his hands, then finally settled his gaze on Engineer, placing the picture back where he found it. His mind was made up.

"There's somethin' important I need to tell ya."

* * *

RED's Spy stood in front of one of the windows inside his base on the first floor, watching the snow fall harder as he smoked a cigarette. The sun had risen long ago, making the white-out conditions more visible. He was informed at breakfast that there was a mandatory ceasefire until the conditions lightened up, so no fighting for the day. He didn't mind the day off, though; it was one less day to be shooting at his son while simultaneously giving him a chance to get some work done in his investigation. When he was sure he wasn't being followed, he made his way back to the room where the team kept their intel briefcase. Once he entered, he sat down and began going through the papers again.

After a few minutes, he heard a coded knock at the door. He smirked, knowing exactly who was knocking.

"Come in, Tavish," he called out. Demoman opened up the door and made his way in, closing the door behind him. He was carrying a bag with various items in them as he walked over to Spy, sitting down on a crate across from him. "What's in the bag?"

"The usual," he replied, taking items out one by one. "A couple bottles o' Scrumpy…some o' Heavy's sandviches…and two packs o' RED-brand cigarettes." He handed one of the packs to Spy, who happily took it.

"Thank you, my friend." Demoman pulled out a pack of matches and lit up one of his cigarettes. He grabbed one of the sandviches and bottles of Scrumpy and rubbed his chin.

"D'ya mind if I try to help ya with investigatin'?" Spy stopped what he was doing and lit one of his cigarettes, looking at Demoman.

"Are you sober enough to help out?" Demoman chuckled, making sure to keep quiet.

"Does potassium chlorate explode when in the right environment?" Spy cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm going to pretend I know something about chemistry and take that as a yes." He took a puff of his cigarette and handed a stack of papers to Demoman. "Here, have a look through these. Let me know if you see anything that's suspicious or out of the ordinary."

"Could you fill me in on what you and your BLU buddies already know so I know what to look for?"

"Certainly." Spy finished off his cigarette and set down his drink. "To make a long story short, there is someone out there with an unknown identity that is manipulating this war behind the scenes with both RED and BLU, as we've discovered. What our BLU comrades have discovered is that Radigan Conagher, their Engineer's grandfather, was commissioned to originally make only one life-extender machine for Blutarch Mann, but he was bribed with 100 pounds of Australium by a mysterious woman to build one for Redmond Mann, as well. He built a third one, but who it was made for is unknown."

"Life-extender machines, eh?" Demoman rubbed his chin again, pondering. "'ow long ago were these made?" Spy took out his notes that he and BLU's Spy exchanged on the battlefield the previous day and skimmed through them (it was his first time looking at them). He nearly choked when he found the date.

"1890!" exclaimed Spy. Demoman coughed, almost inhaling his cigarette.

"What!"

"You mean our employer is over 100 years old!" Spy scowled.

"Apparently. But that's not the most troubling news. Danny and I discovered yesterday that our announcer, who is technically our boss' boss, is also BLU's announcer."

"So this whole war is being run by one person!" Spy nodded grimly. "What the he—wait, who's Danny?"

"BLU's Scout…and my son." Demoman's eye widened in surprise. "My son should not be fighting in this war at all because of my presence, but he is fighting for BLU. A simple background check would have rendered him unable to join, but he appears to have been 'overlooked'." Demoman frowned.

"So that's why you're so hell-bent on getting to the bottom o' this. You don't want the boy involved in this war." Spy nodded once more. Demoman grinned. "Well, Spy, I'll help ya get to the bottom o' this!"

"Shh!" hissed Spy as he held his index finger up to his lips to silence Demoman. Spy quietly got out of his chair and snuck over to the door, having heard loud footsteps in the hallway. He could hear knocking from next door.

"Yo, Demo!" shouted the voice in the hallway as he knocked. Spy inwardly groaned.

"Great, Scout's out there," he complained to himself.

"Demo! You in there!" Demoman kept quiet. "Hey, if you ain't passed out shit-faced, get over to the briefin' room, pronto! We've got a team meetin'!" Spy could hear the teen run down the hall, and soon, there was silence. Spy sighed, looking over at Demoman, who put out his cigarette and grabbed the two uneaten sandviches for the two of them to eat on the way to the briefing room. Spy glanced over at the open intel, then back at Demoman.

"Tavish, I'll clean everything up in here. I'll meet you in the briefing room shortly." Demoman nodded and made his way out. Once Spy put everything away and made the room look like nobody had been in there, he turned the lights out and exited. On his way to the other side of the base, he passed by a window and heard a knocking at it. He stopped and looked over, seeing a note being pressed up against the window by a cloaked BLU Spy. He squatted down so he could read it better.

"Meet us tomorrow night at midnight in our Sniper's van," read the note. Spy looked up from it and gave a thumbs-up, acknowledging that he got the message. BLU's Spy pulled the note away and made his way back to his base.

RED's Spy quickly made his way to the meeting and sat down between Demoman and Medic. Soldier was at the head of the table, waiting for everyone to arrive. Once he saw that everyone was accounted for, he stood up.

"Boys, since we don't have a battle today," he began, "I felt like we could use this time to strategize about our future battles! Does anyone have any suggestions?" Everyone looked at each other for a few moments, then Engineer spoke up.

"What if we rigged the enemy base with sentry guns right outside the respawn points?" the Texan suggested. "It'll stall them long enough for us to capture the point and secure the area." Scout grinned.

"Great idea, Hard Hat!" Soldier shook his head.

"That won't work," he admitted. "Don't forget that their Spy has sappers he can use to disable the sentries."

"I see what you're gettin' at, Soldier," agreed Engineer. "I hadn't thought of that."

"We could distract them like I did yesterday," boasted Scout. Spy pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

"Yes, let's annoy the BLU's to death," he said sarcastically. Scout glared hatefully at him.

"Hey, it's not like _you_ were any help yesterday! All you did was bad mouth me to that BLU Scout!" The room fell silent as all eyes fell on Spy. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable, though he didn't visibly show it.

"Is this true!" yelled Soldier. Spy suddenly grinned.

"Yes, but only to distract him," he lied. "Scouts are able to capture points twice as fast as anybody, and if I kept him away from the point, that would ensure us a better chance of capturing it with their best 'capper' away from his duties." Soldier and Demoman grinned at Spy while Scout crossed his arms and pouted like a spoiled child. Demoman's grin then widened, an idea suddenly coming to him.

"What if we trapped the BLU team?" suggested Demoman. Soldier stared at him.

"What good would trapping them do?" he questioned.

"If we kill them, they respawn and come back for more. If we trap them, they can't respawn, which makes winning for us easier!" Soldier grinned widely while Spy just stared at his friend.

"Brilliant, Demoman!" cried out Soldier triumphantly.

"Oh, it gets better, boyo!" Demoman then stood up, leaning on the table with his hands. "We can keep them trapped in our base, even after the ceasefire! Eventually we can get them to surrender the entire war to us! We could win the whole bloody thing!" His teammates' faces began to beam with excitement (though Spy was feigning his).

"I like the way you think! Okay, boys: when we can fight again, we'll give this strategy a try! We'll flesh out more details tomorrow once we learn how the blizzard affected the battlefield! Dismissed!" Everyone got out of their seats and made their way out of the briefing room. Spy caught up with Demoman and pulled him aside to speak with him privately.

"Tavish, why did you come up with that idea?" he interrogated, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Demoman smirked.

"It'll end the war, help us find out if our announcer truly is who we think she is, and it'll keep your boy from getting hurt," he explained. Spy frowned a bit.

"I don't know…"

"C'mon, what did you want me to say! Kill them again and again and again!"

"You do have a point…Are you sure you're sober?"

"I'm bloody sure, Spy." Spy studied Demoman further, feeling there was something a bit off. Upon further inspection, he couldn't find anything wrong or out of the ordinary, other than he could definitely smell alcohol on his friend's breath. Satisfied, he suddenly remembered the message he received from BLU's Spy. He leaned in closer to Demoman's ear and whispered.

"Tomorrow night at midnight, we're having a meeting in BLU Sniper's van. Don't be late." Demoman nodded.

"Got it." Spy nodded and smiled, walking off. Demoman watched Spy disappear into the base and grinned widely, pulling out a TF Industries-brand cigarette and lighting it.


	7. Memories

_Author's note: I'm really enjoying the reviews that you guys are giving me! Thank you! And a special thank you to whomever it was that gave me the get well message! My knee's just about fully recovered!_

_It's great seeing some of the guesses as to whom you guys think is the mystery person stalking everyone. Well, now's your chance to find out who it was! Were you right? We shall see... *grins*_

_

* * *

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Chapter 7 - Memories

The blizzard had stopped before dusk, so both teams were given the okay to fight the next day. The BLU team was back to their usual morning routine and preparations for the day's fight. As soon as the countdown ended, the team rushed out onto the battlefield and quickly made their way to the capture point. They made sure they were the first ones there before the control point was enabled. Once the RED team was in their sights, they began their barrage of bullets, fire and explosives. RED retaliated with their own set of ammunition, and, soon, about half of the members of each team were sent back to their respective respawn rooms.

BLU's Scout had just been killed by RED's ubercharged Heavy and respawned in his own base. He equipped his Sandman in his right hand and his baseball in his left, then left the room. He didn't make it far down the hall when he felt a hand grab his shoulder from behind. Startled, Scout spun around to smack his attacker in the head with his bat, but it connected with a gloved hand grabbing it, its owner temporarily losing his balance.

"Woah! Easy, Danny!" cried out RED's Spy. Scout relaxed slightly.

"Dad?" he asked. Spy simply smiled. He cringed when Scout threw his ball at him as hard as he could. "Don't do that! You scared the bejeesus out of me!"

"Sorry about that." Spy picked up the ball he was attacked with and inspected it carefully, a look of amazement in his face. "Isn't this the home run ball I caught for you from that Red Sox game when you were a child?" Scout's eyes widened as Spy returned the ball to him.

"I remember goin' to that game with Ma, my brothers and a male friend of Ma's at that time. That was you!" Spy looked around for a place nobody could see them, then dragged Scout out toward the back of the base. When he made absolutely sure that nobody was looking, he removed his mask. Scout studied the man's face—his facial structure and stormy grey eyes were exactly like Scout's, but the similarities ended there. Spy's nose looked like that of a Greek's, and his short, dark brown hair was starting to show signs of graying. The man looked to be about in his early forties.

Scout suddenly remembered the game in question. It was Harry Agganis' last game before his tragic death in 1955. He had forgotten who had hit the home run (Scout was only five at the time), but he remembered the man with his mother standing up and reaching over the other fans to catch the home run ball. He held the ball close as he sat down to keep the other fans from stealing it, then handed it to Scout, smiling.

"Here you go, Kiddo," he remembered the man saying. Scout snapped back to reality and stared at the man in front of him in awe.

"It was you…" Scout managed to utter before The Announcer interrupted the father and son's bonding time.

"Warning! Our control point is being captured!" she boomed on the speakers. Spy quickly put his mask on and gave Scout a serious look.

"Danny, before I go, I just want to tell you to be very careful," warned Spy. "Something very strange is going on around here, and…"

"Dad, I already know," interrupted Scout. "There's someone out there not on either team that's tryin' to silence us. I got shot by him the other day just before ceasefire." Spy's eyes widened in horror.

"Did you see what he looked like?" Scout shook his head.

"No, but I did kill him. I don't know if he respawned or not, and if he did, where did he respawn?" Spy frowned deeply, narrowing his eyes. Scout flailed his hands frantically. "I'm fine, I'm fine! Just…be careful, okay, Dad?" Spy's expression softened and he smiled lovingly.

"You know…today's the first time you've called me 'Dad' without correcting yourself." Scout blinked in realization, then smiled nervously and scratched his right temple, his cheeks blushing slightly. "It feels good to be called that." Scout looked at his father, his smile transitioning from nervous to affectionate. Spy's face then returned to its serious look. "Keep an eye out for any unusual behavior in everyone, even on my team. I'll be doing the same, and I suggest you tell your friends, too. I'll see you at tonight's meeting, Kiddo." Scout smirked.

"Heh…it's been a while since I've been called that. Later!" Scout ran out of the base to join his teammates as they made their way to victory. Spy cloaked himself and made his way through the base, backstabbing the BLU's Pyro as he came out of the respawn room. Spy twirled his butterfly knife in his hand and adjusted his tie simultaneously, letting out a happy sigh.

"Ah, that never gets old."

* * *

Luckily for RED's Spy, their team's capture strategy was an utter failure; nobody could successfully capture even one person from BLU, and their opponents were much more organized than the other day. The fighting for the day had ended early with BLU's victory and a looming snowstorm brewing above Viaduct. Snow had already begun to fall, though it was slow and steady. An official announcement wouldn't be made until the morning as to whether or not their scheduled match would take place.

It was getting close to midnight, and RED's Spy was pacing impatiently while waiting for Demoman to meet him at the entrance. When it was fifteen minutes 'till, Spy decided to check on his friends. He made his way to Demoman's room and knocked on the door.

"Tavish?" inquired Spy. "Are you in there?" No response. He pressed his ear against the door to listen in and could hear faint groans and coughs. Spy drew his Ambassador as a precaution. He quickly opened the door and pointed his gun around, trying to find a target. He saw the bathroom door open with the light on. When Spy walked over, he couldn't help but facepalm at the sight he saw: Demoman praying to the porcelain gods. With a sigh, he spoke once more. "You drank too much again, didn't you? You know we have that meeting tonight!"

"What are ya talkin' aboot?" asked the drunken Scotsman

"You know; the one I told you about after yesterday's team meeting? The one at BLU Sniper's van tonight at midnight?"

"I don' remembah there bein' a meetin' yesterday. I don' remembah what we jus' talked aboot. What were we talkin' aboot again?"

"Oh God dammit!" cried out Spy in frustration. "Nevermind. Just cover for me while I'm gone, okay! And clean yourself up; you look terrible."

"Sure, sure…!"

Spy sighed in defeat and left the room, making his way down the halls of the base toward the exit to the neutral territory. His thoughts soon drifted toward BLU's Scout and his encounter with him today. He was surprised that Scout remembered the baseball game, and even more surprised the boy—no, the young man—didn't grow disgusted with him or start swearing like a sailor or even attack him with a flurry of punches. Scout, to him, seemed accepting of the news, and it appeared that the young man was open to the idea of a relationship with his newly discovered father.

So lost was Spy in his thoughts that he was unaware of an unknown assailant coming up from behind him and striking him in the back of the head with a heavy object, knocking the Frenchman out cold.

* * *

_He suddenly became aware of his surroundings. He appeared to have been in South Boston, standing in front of the house of the love of his life. He could see random toys scattered around the yard and the sound of young boys playing along the street. He smiled and walked up to the door, knocking on it with his right hand while his left one held a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates. The door opened and a beautiful woman with black hair in a simple blue dress stood in front of him, smiling._

"_Hello, Stranger," she greeted coolly._

"_Ah, ma petit chou-fleur," he responded. "As lovely as ever."_

"_I see you've got some free time on your hands."_

"_For a few days. I thought I should spend them with the woman I love dearly." The woman smiled, though her happiness quickly faded away when she saw two of her sons running up to her in a panic._

_"Ma! Ma! Come quick!" cried one of them. He looked to be about ten while the other appeared to be a year younger than his brother._

"_What's the matter, Sweetie?" she asked._

"_It's Danny! Come quick!" His heart sank. His son was in trouble!_

"_What happened! Where is he!" he asked the boy worriedly._

"_There's a pack of dogs that chased him into the alley! They look like pitbulls!" All of the color left the woman's face as he narrowed his eyes._

"_Which alley is he in? I'll go after him." The younger boy looked at him curiously._

"_You would help a total stranger, Mister?"_

"_Now's not the time to discuss this! Where is Danny!" The boy pointed to a nearby alleyway. He nodded and quickly ran, grabbing a baseball bat and ball from the yard as a safety precaution. _

_He ran into the alley and skidded to a halt when he saw the sight. He saw Danny on top of a couple of crates, cowering and crying as a pack of seven dogs were jumping up and trying to bite at him. He tossed the ball up into the air and hit it at the dogs, stunning one of them. The dogs turned their attention to him and began to attack. He batted the dogs away one by one until they eventually retreated down the alley._

_He walked up to the crates and looked up at the boy, who was still crying, though it had subsided a bit. Danny looked to have been about five-years-old, though with how small he was, it was hard to tell for sure. He smiled caringly at the boy._

"_Are you okay?" Danny nodded slightly, sniffling._

"_Uh huh…thank you, Mister," replied the boy. He held his hands out to the boy, offering to carry him home. Danny was hesitant at first, then leapt into the man's arms, clinging to his vest as if it were a security blanket. He hugged the boy and rubbed his back gently, trying to calm the boy's sobs._

"_Shh, shh, it's okay. You're safe now."_

"_I wanna go home…" He smiled._

"_Okay. Let's get you home." As they walked back to Danny's house, the boy looked up at him._

"_Hey Mister?"_

"_Yes?"_

_"You looked cool fighting off those dogs with the ball and bat. I wanna try that the next time those dogs come." He laughed._

"_Maybe when you're older."_

_

* * *

_Spy slowly opened his eyes, his head throbbing in pain and his vision blurry. The first thing he realized once his vision cleared was that he was sitting upright on an empty trash bin inside of a janitorial closet. The second thing he noticed was that his hands were tied with chord above his head to a hook in the wall. The third thing was that he was gagged and had no means of escaping.

His attention soon turned to the man in the closet with him who looked exactly like him, grinning wickedly with one of Spy's cigarettes in his mouth.

"Well well, he awakens," taunted the man. Spy let out some muffled protests as he kicked the man in the leg, hoping to remove his clever disguise. To his surprise, the man didn't change appearance, which caused Spy's eyes to widen in shock. The man chuckled to himself, blowing some smoke out of his nose. "You're probably wondering who I am and why I look just like you. I guess you deserve to know, seeing as how you're not going anywhere. I mean, really, who's going to look for you in a janitor's closet in your own base?" Spy glared hatefully at the man.

"As you and your buddies discovered, the one you call The Announcer runs both teams. We in the office call her The Administrator because of the power she holds over not just the companies, but the different governments in the world, as well." Spy blinked in confusion. "Oh, I guess you hadn't figured that part out yet. Let me spell it out for you. When Redmond and Blutarch Mann took over their respective companies and were given life-extender machines, they took it upon themselves, in the process of trying to out-do and out-live one another, essentially taking over and gaining heavy influence in the different governments of the world. Redmond and Blutarch each managed to get an even fifty-fifty split in them. When The Administrator became CEO of both companies, she essentially gained authority over both companies assets, including the governments." Spy's eyes widened in horror, suddenly realizing what his captor was saying. The man's grin widened even further. "Yes, that's right…The Administrator not only rules both Reliable Excavation Demolition and Builders League United, she also _rules the world!_" Spy couldn't believe what he was hearing. He hadn't realized that the conspiracy they were uncovering was much larger than he had expected. He felt a knot of nervousness build up in his stomach as he felt the color leave his skin. The man's grin soon faded into a small frown as he narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"You and your little buddies know too much, though. That's why The Administrator gave me direct orders to infiltrate one of the bases and take you out one by one. However…she didn't give me a deadline, so I think I'm going to have a little fun with you all first. Right now, I am you. I look, sound, and act like you. And since I'm using your clothes—by the way, thank you for letting me borrow them—when I infiltrate your little traitorous meeting with your little BLU buddies, they will believe I am you." Spy struggled harder, desperately trying to get out of his bindings. The man grinned once more. "I think I'll have some fun with that little brat you call your son first before I kill him right in front of you and his two boyfriends." Spy grew furious and kicked out at the man once more. The man grabbed Spy's leg and quickly twisted it, but not to the point of breaking it. Spy cried out in pain through his cloth gag and cringed, causing the man to grin once more in a sick, twisted way. "And the best part of it is…your little Scout is going to think that it's _you_ that is torturing him." Spy managed to loosen the gag around his mouth and let it fall around his neck.

"Keep your hands off of him, you sick bastard!" he roared. The man quickly grabbed the gag from behind Spy's head and yanked back as if it were a noose, strangling his prey.

"I suggest you keep your mouth shut before I kill you right here and now," the man threatened dangerously. "You'd only make things worse for your son if you died before he did.

"Then at least tell me this," choked Spy, gasping for air. "Why was our connection overlooked in the background checks!"

"That I'm not sure of, but it's of no concern to me." The man untied the piece of cloth and re-gagged Spy, tying it much tighter than before. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to go to. Hope you're not afraid of the dark." He laughed as he exited the closet, cutting out the light and shutting the door. As desperately as Spy tried to get free of his binds, it was to no avail.

Spy wasn't one to pray, but he made an exception that time. He bowed his head and closed his eyes. He didn't pray for his own safety and freedom, though…he prayed for Danny's.


	8. Tensions

Chapter 8 - Tensions

Scout and Spy stood outside the main entrance to the base in the snow. Spy didn't seem affected by the cold, given the various layers of clothing he was wearing under his suit, but Scout was shivering even in his sweatshirt over his regular clothes. Scout groaned.

"What the hell is takin' Engie so long?" he complained. "And, seriously, it should be illegal for it to be this cold!" Spy chuckled.

"Engineer had a few things to finish up when I checked on him about a half hour ago," explained Spy. "He should be here any minute now." Scout rubbed his arms to keep himself warm. He sneezed a few seconds later from the cold. Spy frowned. "Maybe you should wait inside where it's warm. I don't think you've fully gotten over whatever you caught the other day."

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Scout looked up at the sky, noticing the snow falling harder. "Hey, do you think we'll have a match tomorrow?" Spy looked up.

"Hard to tell with the weather we've been having lately." Scout sneezed again. Spy furrowed his eyebrows. "Okay, that's it. We're waiting inside." He put an arm around Scout's shoulders and attempted to guide him back inside, though Scout struggled.

"Spy, man, I'm fine! Really!" Scout tripped over his own foot as he struggled and quickly lost his balance. Spy caught him before he fell flat on his face, wrapping his arms around the young man. Scout held onto Spy as he regained his footing.

"Are you okay, Scout?" asked Spy worriedly. "You're not usually this clumsy."

"Yeah…I guess I'm just tired." Spy frowned once more.

"Do you want to skip the meeting and get some sleep?" Scout shook his head quickly, frowning.

"No way. I want to help you guys, especially with that mystery guy out there still. I don't want to be useless, y'know?"

"Scout, you're not useless. You've been a tremendous help to us. We wouldn't have gotten this far in our investigation without you." Scout smiled slightly, then yawned, speaking once more.

"Besides, if I get too tired, I could always crash in Snipes' van." Spy scowled. Scout looked up and noticed the look of distaste in his friend's expression. He suddenly remembered what Engineer had told him about Spy and Sniper. "I've been meanin' to ask ya…is there somethin' goin' on between you and Snipes? Did you two get in a fight or somethin'?" Spy looked once more at Scout, his scowl melting away. He couldn't tell Scout that he was jealous of Sniper, but he also couldn't let Sniper, whom he knew had a great deal of affection for Scout like he himself did, confess to the Bostonian first about how he felt about the boy. However, he didn't feel that that moment was the right time to tell him his true feelings. He simply gave Scout an assuring smile.

"There's nothing going on between us," lied Spy. Scout frowned, not believing him. He decided not to press the matter further when a blast of frigid air hit the two as the wind kicked up, causing Scout to squeak from the cold and shiver once more. Spy held him close in his arms to keep him warm. Scout, not caring how awkward he felt the two looked in their position, clung to Spy for warmth, resting his head on his chest and closing his eyes, tiredness setting in.

The two looked over at the doors that had just opened, seeing Engineer coming out of them. It was his turn to shiver.

"Whooee!" he exclaimed. "It should be illegal for it to be this cold!" Scout poked Spy's chest, laughing.

"Ha! Told ya!" he bragged. Spy chuckled, looking at Scout. Engineer cocked an eyebrow.

"Am I interruptin' somethin' here?" Spy and Scout looked at themselves, then at each other, and then quickly pushed apart, clearing their throats.

"No! Nothing!" they nervously answered simultaneously.

"Then let's get over to Sniper's van before we turn into BLU-cicles!" Scout chuckled as the three made their way to the van.

"I get it!" exclaimed Scout. "It's because we're BLU, and it's cold, and ice is blue, and…"

"Scout," interrupted Engineer. "Shut up."

* * *

Sniper waited patiently inside of the van. He finished making a pot of decaf coffee (to warm everyone up) and pulled out a number of blankets for everyone to wrap up in due to the extreme cold. Sniper didn't usually mind the cold, but it was unbearably cold outside, and the van offered little warmth.

He heard a knock at the door to the van. He made his way over and Scout, Spy and Engineer quickly made their way in. Sniper couldn't help but smirk as Scout quickly made his way to one of the blankets, immediately wrapping up in it and sitting in front of Sniper's bed on the floor. Engineer wasn't too far behind him, grabbing another blanket. Spy nodded to Sniper in greeting, then made his way to the group, sitting on one side of Scout.

Sniper began to pour everyone their drinks when he heard another knock at the door. He opened it up and in came "RED's Spy". The man nodded in greeting and walked in, shutting the door behind himself. He looked around.

"I see everyone is here?" he asked. The other three BLU's glanced over from their sitting places to look at the newcomer.

"Oi, we're all 'ere," answered Sniper, beginning to hand out the mugs of coffee.

"Sniper, is it wise to give us coffee this late at night?" asked Engineer. "Especially to our hyperactive bunny over there?"

"Can it, Hard-Hat!" spat Scout. Sniper chuckled.

"Relax, it's decaf," assured Sniper. BLU's Spy looked over at his "counterpart".

"Did you invite someone from your base at all?" he asked. The man in red nodded.

"I've been working with our Demoman because of his past connections with your team's Soldier," he explained. "However, he wasn't able to make it tonight since he's incredibly hung over." Scout rolled his eyes.

"Figures," he scoffed.

"He's aware of the situation, though, and is willing to help us. Currently he's covering my tracks at the base." He glanced at the BLUs as he sat down across from Scout. "Have you taken the necessary precautions to cover your own?"

"Everyone is sound asleep right now," explained BLU's Spy. Sniper finally sat down on the other side of Scout.

"Shall we get started?" he suggested. Everyone nodded. BLU's Spy cleared his throat.

"Okay, so we're all up to date on our information?" he questioned. Everyone nodded once more. "Very well. Engineer, do you have anything you would like to add?"

"Sure do," he replied. "About six months ago, I was brought to Mr. Blutarch Mann's office to fix his life-extender machine my grandfather made. I was given my grandfather's blueprints and notes in order to complete this task, and in the notes, I saw a list of different Australium caches throughout the world as well as when and for whom the three life-extender machines were made." BLU's Spy nearly choked on his coffee as Sniper spit his out into his mug.

"Wh-what!" they both exclaimed.

"One topic at a time," suggested the other Spy, visibly shocked by the news. "First, the Australium caches. Anything of note with those?"

"All of the places that we have fought at were Australium caches. Apparently while we were fighting and protecting the bases, in the gated off sections of the area, our companies were mining for Australium. This has been going on since my grandfather's time when he worked for Builders League United." BLU's Spy furrowed his eyebrows.

"That would explain why our boss has us fighting each other," noted Spy. "My guess is that with the public's attention on the war, nobody would be paying attention to the mining of Australium, thus keeping its value and mystery intact."

"So what about th'third life-extender machine?" interrogated Sniper. Engineer frowned.

"Unfortunately, my grandfather spilled something on the notes, making the name illegible," confessed Engineer. "All I know is that it was built eight months after Redmond Mann's was built, which was a month after Blutarch's."

"Do you know if it was for a man or a woman?" asked the other Spy. Engineer shook his head.

"Can't tell. Like I said, the name is illegible. It didn't help that my grandfather's handwriting was bad to begin with." BLU's Spy sighed, intertwining his fingers and resting his elbows on his knees, resting his chin on his hands.

"We can't know for sure if our boss is the one with the life-extender machine or not, seeing as how we've never actually seen her face."

"I believe our Soldiers do," piped in the other Spy. "Doesn't your Soldier get direct orders from her for BLU while ours does for RED?" Spy looked at the man in red.

"I hadn't thought of that before. It sounds like we'll both have to look into it for our respective teams."

"So that'll be our next task?" asked Sniper. "Getting both of our Soldiers involved?" Both Spy's nodded. Engineer glanced over at the unusually quiet Scout, then smiled tenderly.

"I think we'll have to reconvene another time, fellas," announced Engineer quietly. The other three glanced over at Scout, who was sound asleep, sitting upright against the bed with his blanket wrapped tightly around himself. "I think we've bored him to death."

"No, I'm afraid he was already very tired before we started," explained BLU's Spy. "I told him he should have skipped the meeting and get some rest, but he refused. He nearly fell asleep standing up while we were waiting for you, Engineer."

"I think 'e's trying t'prove to us that 'e isn't a burden, even though we've told 'im we don't' see 'im that way," uttered Sniper. He set his empty mug down and stood up. He carefully picked up Scout and laid him down on the bed, trying not to wake him. He took his own blanket and put it over the young man to keep him warm. He placed the back of his hand against Scout's forehead, checking for a fever; thankfully, Scout wasn't running one. "RED's Spy" cleared his throat, then stood up.

"I must agree with your Engineer and suggest we have this meeting again some other time," he declared.

"Maybe we can bring our Soldiers and your Demoman to our next meeting?" suggested Engineer. The Spy in the red suit nodded.

"Yes. For now, however…" He looked over at Scout. "…we should let him get some rest." The others nodded as they stood up. "RED's Spy" was the first to exit after saying his good-byes. Engineer and BLU's Spy exited the camper together, with Spy taking one last look at Scout before hesitantly leaving. The door remained open for a bit, but eventually closed itself.

Once the camper was quiet, Sniper yawned and stretched, his arms going sideways (his head almost touched the ceiling due to his height and the size of the van). He glanced at and slowly made his way over to the sleeping Scout. Sniper gently cupped the young man's face in his hand, admiring his soft features as he softly brushed his thumb against Scout's cheek. Unable to contain himself, Sniper slowly lowered his face, his lips dangerously close to Scout's. He stopped himself, frowned, then settled on kissing Scout's forehead softly.

"I saw that," he heard an annoyed, familiar voice say to him from behind. Sniper whipped around and faced his team's Spy, who was glaring at him. "I knew I couldn't trust you to stay with Scout alone." Sniper returned the glare.

"I can't trust you, either," he retorted.

"I had my suspicions about you, Sniper. I had a feeling that you, too, loved Scout."

"So you're admitting your feelings, too, eh? Yes, I love th'man. Well, now that we've got that off of our chests, I 'ave t'admit that I 'ate 'ow you treat Scout like a girl!"

"And I hate how you treat him like a child! And I detest how you try to take advantage of him in situations like this!"

"You've done th'same thing, you two-faced mongrel! I saw you two through my window just this evening!"

"I was keeping him warm, you repulsive bushman! I don't know what you were trying to do the other night in the infirmary when you were hugging him with his shirt off!"

"I was comforting him! Unlike you, I care about his feelings and what he's going through, as opposed to your indifference to it! You don't deserve someone like him!"

"Neither do you!"

"Uh…guys?" interrupted a quiet voice. Sniper and Spy froze, immediately ceasing their bickering. The two simultaneously turned their heads towards Scout, who was sitting up in bed on his side, staring blankly at the two.

"How much of that did you hear?" asked Spy nervously. Scout frowned, pushing the covers off of himself and standing up, making his way to the door. Both Spy and Sniper began to move to stop him, but Scout held up his hand, stopping them in their tracks without getting so much as a glance from the young man. Scout opened the door and quickly made his way into the cold, slamming the door shut. He leaned against the outside of the door, taking in a deep breath of cold air and shakily exhaling it.

"Dammit…it is my fault," he mumbled to himself. He shut his eyes tightly and shook his head, pushing off of the door and quickly making his way to his base.

* * *

Engineer was making his way back to the van when he saw Scout quickly exiting it, keeping his eyes glued to the ground. Engineer ran up to him, placing his hands on his shoulders gently to stop him.

"Scout!" he cried out. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now," replied the Bostonian quietly. "Just…nevermind. Let's go inside. It's too cold." Engineer nodded worriedly. As he slowly removed his hands from Scout's shoulders, he suddenly heard a revolver going off, followed by intense pain in his upper left chest. He let out a muted cry of pain as he fell backwards into the snow, his world going black. Scout went into a panic, kneeling next to his fallen friend. "Oh God! Engie!"

"Mother…hubbard…" croaked Engineer, gripping his wound as his breathing quickened. He could feel himself losing consciousness.

"Shit, shit, that's a lot of blood…MEDIC! C'mon, Engie! Don't die on me! Hang in there! Think of your wife and daughter! Just don't die!" It suddenly hit Scout in his panic: Engineer had been _shot!_ Scout cursed himself for not bringing a weapon and looked around shakily, his eyes darting around, trying to find where their assailant was. Instead, he saw "RED's Spy" running up to the two, a look of panic on his own face.

"Scout!" he cried out. "What happened? Are you all right?" The man knelt down and pulled Scout into a tight, comforting embrace. Scout looked up at him. He was about to hug the man for comfort, but stopped himself quickly when he looked at the man's eyes. They weren't grey like his—they were hazel. And the man had called him "Scout" and not "Danny". Scout's eyes widened in horror at the realization, causing the man to grin wickedly, knowing what was going through Scout's mind through the terror in his eyes.

"**HELP!**"


	9. To the Rescue

_Author's Note: Gah, I updated late again! We're having work done on the house, so things are a little crazy around here. So in all of the chaos, here's a semi-chaotic chapter!_

_Note: There is a slightly disturbing scene in here, so if you're uncomfortable with sexual situations, I suggest you skip this one._

_

* * *

_

Chapter 9 - To the Rescue

Sniper and Spy quickly ran to the door of the camper van as soon as they heard Scout's cries for help. Sniper jiggled the handle to the door, trying to get it open, but to no avail. Spy shoved Sniper out of the way and frantically tried, but was met with the same results. Sniper let out a frustrated yell and punched the door as hard as he could.

"Bloody 'ell!" he roared. Spy looked at him.

"Let's try hitting the door more," he suggested. "I heard something jar loose when you hit it." Sniper nodded. Both began to throw their full weights into the door, hoping to open it with enough force. Eventually, the door flung open and the two stumbled out onto the snow. They pushed themselves off of the ground and ran over to the fallen Engineer as the rest of the team made their way out of the base. Soldier and Medic made it to the man first.

"Engie!" cried out Soldier. He clenched his fists tight enough to turn his knuckles white. "Those RED bastards are going to pay dearly for downing one of our men during a ceasefire!" He quit his ranting when he heard Engineer groan in pain.

"Scout…" he coughed. Spy and Sniper turned pale as Heavy's eyes widened.

"Tiny Scout shoot Engineer!" he gasped.

"No…the man…looked like RED's Spy…but…I don't know if it was really him…he…he took Scout…"

"So it _was_ those RED Bastards!" swore Soldier. He stopped for a moment. "Wait a minute…what were the four of you doing outside of the base after hours?" He glared at Sniper and Spy. "You have A LOT of explaining to do, Maggots!"

"For now, Herr Soldier," interrupted Medic, "ve must get Engineer inside so I can vork on his injury. Heavy, vill you take him to ze infirmary?"

"Da, Doctor!" saluted Heavy. He carefully picked up the wounded Engineer and made his way inside, Medic following behind him. Soldier stood up and stomped over to Sniper and Spy. He grabbed each of them by the ear and dragged them inside of the base, the rest of the team following behind.

"Ow! Soldier!" yelped Spy. "What about Scout?"

"We have to save him!" added Sniper.

"We are not going to go blindly into a rescue mission without all of the information you two maggots have been hiding from the rest of the team!"

* * *

RED's Spy was attempting to find a way to free himself once more. With the close proximity of the door to the back wall, Spy was able to place one foot on the door and the other on the back wall. He tried to carefully walk up them, hoping to get his entire body up high enough so he could lift his bindings over the hook they were on. His feet slipped multiple times, but he never gave up. He had his son's welfare to think of!

He was finally able to move his feet higher than before without them slipping. He grinned victoriously underneath his gag when the door swung open, causing him to fall back toward the trash bin he was originally sitting on, knocking it over. The force of the fall pulled roughly on both of his arms from his wrists down to his shoulders. He was sure he had pulled a few muscles in the process.

Spy glanced at the door, expecting his captor to show up to taunt him. What he wasn't expecting was for his team's Demoman to be standing there. The Scotsman rushed in and pulled the gag off of his friend.

"Spy, what happened?" he cried out. Spy coughed a bit, getting the lint from the cloth gag out of his mouth. He readjusted his footing so he could catch himself when Demoman eventually cut his bindings.

"Our mysterious third party is what happened," explained Spy. "He knocked me out from behind and tied me up in here. He's posing as me as we speak!" Demoman's eye widened. "He went to that meeting we were supposed to go to at BLU Sniper's van!"

"I really didn't know aboot the meeting," confessed Demoman. "Ye never told me." Spy made a face.

"Then that Spy must have been posing as you when I told you about it! Merde…" Spy made eye contact with Demoman. "Tavish, that man was sent by our boss to kill us because we know too much! He plans on torturing us first, and he's going to start with Danny!"

"He's already started with him!" Spy's eyes widened in horror. "I knew something was up when 'you' brought him back to the base with that sick grin on 'your' face." Spy was starting to go into a panic. He reached for a cigarette, but couldn't find one—he was completely disarmed, even of the one thing that could calm his nerves in a time like this. He managed to calm down a bit to ask a question. "Where is he!"

"He took the lad out to the back of the base." Demoman was finally able to cut through the chord, which freed Spy. Spy landed on his feet and rubbed his already bruising wrists.

"I need you to cover me as I go in. I'm getting that son-of-a-bitch away from my son!" Demoman grinned and took out his fully-loaded Scottish Resistance into both of his hands.

"Let's do it!"

* * *

Scout slowly opened his eyes. He closed them tightly, shivering from the cold. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious, but he knew right away that he was not in the best of places to be. His hands were tied above his head to the cold, chain-link fence and his earpiece and sweatshirt were missing. He opened his eyes once more and was face-to-face with his captor.

"I see you're finally awake, my son," he taunted. Scout glared at him, struggling against his binds.

"You're not my real father! Where is he? What did you do with him?" shouted Scout. The man lunged forward and clamped his hand over Scout's mouth, gripping his jaw tightly. Scout winced and let out a muffled protest as the man whipped out his butterfly knife and held it to Scout's throat.

"Keep it down or I'll slice out your vocal chords," he threatened dangerously. The man could feel Scout shaking slightly beneath him, but he knew it was from the cold and not out of fear. The young man just glared at the man posing as his father. "Your father is a bit…tied up at the moment. Right now, though, I'd be more worried about yourself." He let go of Scout and paced back and forth in front of him, eyeing him. "I'm curious…what is it about you that makes you so special? You're a rude, loud, whiny, clingy, burdensome brat, and yet you have two men fawning over you!" Scout tried his best to keep a strong front, but his visible change in skin color and cold sweat forming on his forehead were a dead giveaway to his captor that he had struck a nerve with the boy.

"Just who the hell are you anyway?" spat Scout. The man chuckled deeply, knowing how he could play off of Scout's emotions.

"Now that is a good question, isn't it?" The man took out his cloaking device and, in a puff of purple smoke, changed into BLU's Spy. "I could be Bachelor Number 1…" He immediately changed into BLU's Sniper. "…or I could be Bachelor Number 2." He changed back into BLU's Spy and walked up to Scout, taking the boy's chin into his hand and looking intently at him as if he were inspecting him. "Now I see why they like you so much, you little slut; it's your good looks." Scout jerked his head out of the man's grasp. The man grinned and slowly rubbed his hands up and down Scout's bare arms. Scout felt a lump enter his throat as his body began to shake. The man continued, knowing his actions were affecting his prey. Scout closed his eyes tightly and heard the familiar sound of the man shape-shifting once more. He could then hear Sniper's voice speaking to him as the man's hands traveled down to his neck, then down to his chest in the same, sick way. "Take a gander at this little princess."

"Get your hands off of me, you sick freak!" screamed Scout. The man backhanded him harshly across the face and brought the knife back to his neck, pressing hard enough to draw a little bit of blood.

"One more outburst from you and you, your father, and your little buddies are dead men! Got it!" Scout's eyes stung. He felt cold, helpless, and terrified, but he couldn't show weakness in front of his enemy. The man transformed back into RED's Spy. He pressed himself up against Scout and rubbed his hands up from the boy's thighs that were on either side of his hips, up his sides into his shirt, then up to his chest. Scout struggled as hard as he could, but the man pressed himself tighter up against him. The man emitted a low growl through his sinister grin.

"You like that, don't you, you little whore? No? Well too bad, because I'm enjoying every minute of this." Scout was about to let out a cry for help when the man forced his lips onto the boy, slipping his tongue into his mouth. Scout shut his eyes tightly, pretending to be somewhere else than where he was. He felt sick, and he felt dirty. He felt the man beginning to move against him, but thankfully not for long. He suddenly felt the man forced off of him and a familiar, angered voice followed by the motion.

"You son-of-a-bitch!" the voice shouted. "Keep your filthy hands OFF of my son!" Scout quickly opened his eyes and saw his father on the ground on top of his captor, beating the living daylights out of him.

"Dad!" he exclaimed, his voice a bit shaky. He heard another pair of footsteps. He looked over and saw RED's Demoman, aiming his Scottish Resistant at the beaten man, who was now being held up from behind by RED's Spy.

"Now, Tavish!" called out the real Spy. Demoman laughed, then shot at the enemy, sticking eight sticky bombs onto his body. The man went into a panic. He struggled like a wild animal, trying to free himself to get the bombs off, but Spy would have none of it. Instead, he turned the man around to face him as he leered at the man hatefully. "Burn in Hell, you soulless monster!" The man laughed maniacally.

"Don't think you've seen the last of The Administrator's henchmen! Trust me, there will be more of us coming until all of you are snuffed out!" Spy glared hatefully at the man as he threw him away from Scout and anything else structurally sound as Demoman hit a button and the bombs exploded, the man letting out a death cry as he, too, exploded. Scout shut his eyes tightly and turned his head away from the scene, fighting back the urge to vomit.

"Oh, they're going to have to glue you back together…in Hell!" taunted Demoman, pointing to the man's giblets. Spy rushed over to Scout, reaching up to untie the ropes binding his wrists.

"Danny, are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "I'm so sorry I couldn't get here sooner!" Scout hesitantly looked at the man. Spy had his familiar grey eyes, a sincere look of worry in them.

"Dad…" uttered Scout, his voice cracking. Spy was about to undo the knot when he heard footsteps running out to the scene. He immediately stopped and pulled his hands away from Scout. He and Demoman stared at their Soldier, Medic and Heavy.

"Vhat is going on?" questioned Medic.

"Why is Little BLU Scout here?" asked Heavy, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kiddo," whispered Spy. Scout frowned, but understood the situation. Spy looked at his teammates. "Demoman and I found BLU's Scout wandering outside of the base and decided to give Demoman's plan one more try." Soldier grinned.

"Good work, men!" he congratulated. "I take it you two will take the first shift in guarding him?" Spy and Demoman nodded. "Very well! In three hours, Engineer and I will take over!" He turned to Medic and Heavy. "The rest of you, go back to bed! We'll see if we can get any information out of the Scout in the morning! Dismissed!" Medic and Heavy nodded, then made their way back into the base with Soldier. Once they were out of sight, Spy sighed.

"Tavish, please guard Danny," ordered Spy. "I'm going to go to the BLU base and inform Danny's teammates of his whereabouts so they can come for him." Spy looked at Danny, gently rubbing the top of his head. "Stay strong. Help is coming soon." Scout lowered his head.

"Y-Yeah…j-just…p-please h-hurry…" he stuttered. Spy could tell the cold was affecting Scout. He could also tell the boy felt uncomfortable being left alone in his situation with a stranger.

"I will, don't worry. And you're in good hands with Tavish. He's been working with me with this whole investigation. He's a good man, and he'll take care of you." Spy looked at Demoman and pointed a finger at him. "No drinking on the job, and keep the others away from him."

"D-dad…?" asked Scout weakly. Spy quickly turned to him. "P-Please…d-don't d-die…d-don't…e-end u-up…l-like E-Engie…" Spy frowned. He hadn't realized that one of Scout's teammates had been killed, nor that Scout had witnessed it happening. He smiled slightly, trying to give his son hope and comfort.

"I promise." He patted Scout's head lightly, then cloaked himself and ran out of the base. He ran as fast as he could, eventually making his way into BLU's base.

* * *

He was amazed at how the layout was exactly like his own base's. He deduced from Scout's comment about their Engineer being killed that someone would have to be in the infirmary. What he didn't expect when he skidded to a halt in there was the Engineer to be sitting up in bed alive and with bandages on his wounded shoulder with the entire rest of the team in the room with him, interrogating their Spy and Sniper. Everyone immediately ceased talking and stared at the man in red, some drawing their weapons. RED's Spy held his hands up defensively, showing he meant no harm.

"Bloody Spy!" hissed BLU's Demoman. "Ye bloody near killed our Engineer!"

"It wasn't me, I swear!" pleaded RED's Spy. He took a deep breath, then exhaled. "I offer myself to you as a prisoner of war. All I ask in return is that you please save Danny quickly!" The team hesitantly lowered their weapons. RED's Spy caught a glance at BLU's Spy and Sniper, but it was Engineer who spoke up.

"We can trust him, boys," he stated. "A real father wouldn't bring harm to his child. Besides, he ain't the one who shot me. Scout's good at telling who's who, and I could tell right away from his reaction that that man wasn't the real RED Spy." Soldier sighed, then looked at RED's Spy, a stern expression on his face.

"Tell us what happened on your end and where Scout is!" Spy smiled slightly, sighing in relief. His expression quickly turned serious as he faced Soldier.

"Okay, here's what happened..."


	10. Recovery

_Author's Note: Hello again! Just wanted to thank you again for the great reviews, especially Iz! I'm so happy I can make someone flail and brighten someone's day with my writings! XD_

_For those of you concerned with sexual content in this story, what happened in the last chapter is the worst it's going to get, so no need to fear for the rest of the story._

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Chapter 10 - Recovery

After quickly summarizing the events leading up to his and BLU's current situation, RED's Spy eagerly awaited the rest of the team's reaction. He could see the looks of guilt and disgust in Spy and Sniper's expressions, a look of pure horror in Engineer's and Heavy's, and a mixture of confusion and outright anger in Medic's, Soldier's and Demoman's. Spy obviously couldn't read Pyro's face, but judging by his body language, the mysterious arsonist was visibly disturbed by the whole situation. Soldier took a deep breath, having calmed down, then faced his team.

"Alright, men!" he bellowed. "We have very little time to act and no room for screw-ups, so listen carefully! Demoman, Pyro, and Engy are going to remain here, hold down the fort, and keep a watchful eye on our prisoner!" Soldier turned to RED's Spy. "Against my better judgment, I'm not going to lock you up. However, you are not permitted to leave this building nor are you allowed in personal quarters or other rooms aside from the mess hall and public areas without authorization from me! Understood!" RED's Spy nodded.

"Yes, Sir," he replied respectfully. Soldier grinned.

"That's what I like to hear!" He turned to the rest of the team. "Heavy, Spy, Medic, and Sniper: you will be joining me on the rescue mission!" He eyed Spy and Sniper specifically. "You will follow my every order without question! Are we clear, Maggots!" Everyone nodded. "Spy and Sniper: remember that you're on thin ice with me right now for going through the intelligence without permission, so absolutely _no_ screw-ups from you two! You hear me!" Spy and Sniper nodded once more, cringing. "Okay. Let's move out, men!"

Heavy, Medic and Soldier quickly left the room. Sniper and Spy were quickly following until RED's Spy stopped his BLU counterpart. BLU's Spy stopped and turned to look at him, growing concerned due to the man's pleading face.

"Are you okay, Spy?" asked BLU's Spy.

"Please tell me you have a cigarette," implored the man in red. BLU's Spy grinned and handed him one of his packs. RED's Spy immediately put one in his mouth. "Much obliged."

"Those should keep you calm until we bring Scout back." RED's Spy frowned.

"I won't be able to rest until I know Danny's safe. I hate not being able to join you." He suddenly paused. "What am I doing! I'm holding you back! Go! GO!" BLU's Spy nodded and quickly ran off, catching up with the rest of the team. RED's Spy reached for his lighter, but realized that he didn't have it with him. "Sonuva…"

"Mmn mah mght hmm n frh?" asked Pyro to Engineer. The Texan facepalmed.

"No, Pyro, you can't set him on fire," he replied. Spy suddenly got an idea. He made his way over to Pyro, taking his cigarette out of his mouth and holding it up to the masked man.

"You can light this, though," offered Spy, hoping allowing the man to set something on fire would be a good peace offering. Pyro seemed to perk up as he turned on his flamethrower and spewed fire at the man. Spy dropped the cigarette and ducked out of the way with a startled yelp. Pyro laughed evilly under his mask as Demoman and Engineer chuckled loudly. Spy groaned. "This just isn't my night…"

* * *

Soldier, Medic, Heavy, Sniper and Spy successfully made it into the base without being detected. Soldier took out the notes he scribbled when interrogating RED's Spy and glanced at them.

"Okay, according to this," he began, "Scout should be at the back of the base, and their Soldier and Engineer will be there at 0400 hours. Sniper, what time it is?" Sniper took out his watch.

"Three o'clock," he answered. "Plenty of time."

"Excellent. Let's keep going."

The team eventually made it to the back of the base. Spy cloaked himself and stepped out into the open air, looking for any hazards or enemies. Luckily, he didn't find any. He froze in his tracks when he saw Scout unconscious and tied to the gate with RED's Demoman standing by him. Spy frowned deeply at Scout's current state. His cloaking device ran out of energy and automatically uncloaked him. Demoman immediately pointed his Scottish Resistance at Spy, then lowered his weapon, realizing he was a BLU. Spy motioned for the rest of the team to catch up as he ran over to Scout.

"Keep your voices down, lads," ordered Demoman quietly. "You don't want to alert the rest o' the team." Medic made his way up to Scout as Spy and Sniper worked on cutting the thick rope around Scout's wrists. He checked the boy's vital signs and looked him over for any injuries. Heavy kept a look-out for the rest of the team while Soldier faced Demoman, giving him an even stare.

"DeGroot," he greeted in a monotone. Demoman nodded slightly.

"Doe," he replied in the same tone. Heavy could feel the tension between the two thicken, so he decided to distract himself. He looked over at Medic.

"Is Tiny Scout okay?" he asked worriedly. Medic frowned.

"He vill be fine, but he needs to get varm quickly before he catches pneumonia," he explained.

"Medic, hold onto him," ordered Spy. "We're about to finish cutting the rope." Medic nodded and wrapped his arms around Scout underneath his shoulders. He nodded to Sniper and Spy, giving them the cue to cut the rope. As soon as they did, Medic held himself steady as Scout fell limp into his arms.

"Someone is going to have to carry him back to zhe base," announced Medic.

"I'll do it!" volunteered Spy and Sniper simultaneously. The two instantly glared at each other. Medic cleared his throat and gave the two a scolding stare. Sniper and Spy frowned, then turned their heads away from each other. Medic turned to Heavy.

"Heavy, you vill do it. You are best equipped vith keeping him varm on zhe vay back to zhe base." Heavy carefully scooped up Scout and held him close. He heard Scout groan as he felt the smaller man bring his arms close to himself, turning into Heavy's chest and shivering violently.

"C-c-cold-d…s-s-so…c-c-c-old-d," moaned Scout, not exactly conscious. Demoman frowned.

"Poor lad," he uttered. He turned to Soldier once more. "I need to discuss somethin' with you, but this isn't exactly the best environment for it."

"Another time, you Scotch son-of-a-bitch," he replied evenly. Demoman nodded.

"Jus' do one thing for me before you leave." Soldier gave him a weird look. Demoman grinned. "Knock me out. Make it look like I actually put up a fight." Soldier grinned back, pulling out his shovel.

"I was just thinking about that." Demoman braced himself as Soldier swung his shovel, connecting with Demoman's head, knocking the man out cold. Soldier turned to his team. "All right, men: back to the base!" The others nodded and ran, making their way out of the base. Soldier followed behind, stopped, turned around and faced the fallen Demoman. Soldier stared for a moment, then slowly brought his hand up to salute him, a small grin forming on his face. He stared for another moment like that, then ran to catch up with his teammates.

* * *

The weather had gotten worse after the BLUs returned to their base, so a cease fire was called for the day. For BLU, it worked out perfectly, since nobody got sleep during the night, even after they returned Scout safely. Even though the entire team (plus RED's Spy) was in the infirmary, they were all too worried about Scout and Engineer to get sleep.

It was about mid-afternoon, and some of the team had left to their respective rooms to pass out on their beds. Pyro, Demoman and Heavy could barely stay awake on their feet, so Medic ordered them to go get some rest. Engineer was sitting up in his bed in the infirmary propped up against some pillows, but he had taken off his hat and goggles to get some shut-eye as soon as he saw Scout with his own two eyes when the others brought him back early in the morning. Scout hadn't woken up from the incident yet and was still unconscious in bed. Medic would check Scout's body temperature every half hour and place a warm wash cloth on his forehead each time he did so. Sniper and both Spies were sitting on stools by Scout's bed and watched over him as Soldier paced back and forth in the room. Medic frowned.

"Soldier, you should get zome rest," he suggested. "You've been pacing for hours, and, frankly, it's grating at my nerves." Soldier finally stopped, crossing his arms and staring at the floor.

"This whole thing with our boss also apparently being RED's boss is grating at my nerves," he countered. "I had my suspicions, but I couldn't really say anything."

"When did you start having doubts?" asked BLU's Spy.

"Around the time Tav—RED's Demoman and I got into that huge war with each other. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but now that I look back on it, the whole thing makes me sick to my stomach."

"You should talk to him, then," suggested Engineer, who had just woken up. Everyone turned to the Texan. "It sounds like we're going to need to get RED on our side in this issue if we're going to get to the bottom of this. Our boss sounds like a dangerous force to be reckoned with." Sniper scowled.

"She gets others t'do her dirty work for her, which is even more dangerous," he spat. RED's Spy looked back at Scout's sleeping form and gently smoothed his hair down, frowning.

"We don't want more casualties like we've had with Danny and Dell," he stated. Spy looked at Engineer. "You don't mind if I call you by your first name, do you?" Engineer smiled.

"Not a problem. We should probably get yours, though, since we've got two Spies in the building now." RED's Spy frowned.

"I'm not quite comfortable giving out my name yet, so if you'd like, you may call me Red," he suggested.

"Red it is then!" Sniper looked at Red.

"Didn't th'other Spy say that there were more of 'im where 'e came from?" he asked. Red nodded.

"Yes. Unfortunately, we're going to have to keep our guard up. The Administrator is still out for our blood." Everyone's attention soon turned to Scout, who began to stir. He moaned lightly as he slowly opened his eyes. Scout turned to look at everyone in the room.

"Wh…where am I?" he asked weakly. Red smiled.

"You're back in your base, Kiddo," he answered. "You're safe now."

"Yes, but you're staying in bed until you're vell enough to move around," stated Medic, coming to check his temperature once more. "Your body is varming up, but it's not back to normal yet." Scout coughed, turning onto his side so he was facing his father, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach.

"I don't feel good…" he whined. Red frowned and put the fallen washcloth back on Scout's forehead. He rubbed his head gently.

"What's wrong, son?" he asked worriedly. Scout glanced up at him with just his eyes, then back down at his pillow. He suddenly looked past his father and saw Engineer in his bed, looking at Scout worriedly. Scout sat up on his side slightly to get a better view.

"Engie…? You're alive…?" Engineer grinned.

"I don't go down that easily, boy," he gloated. Scout frowned.

"I…I thought…" Engineer's look softened.

"Hey, don't worry about me. You worry about resting up and getting well quickly." Scout could feel his eyelids drooping again. He laid back down on his side and clung to his pillow, growing cold again. Red immediately noticed this and pulled Scout's covers up over his shoulders. Medic made his way back to the bed and switched out Scout's washcloth.

"Now zhat you know Scout vill be okay," he began, "I suggest you all leave and let him rest." Sniper and Spy nodded, then walked out, going in opposite directions of each other. Red stood up, gave Scout a gentle kiss on his temple, rubbed his back gently, then exited with Soldier.

"How long until I can get out of bed, Medic?" questioned Engineer. "I want to get to work on my machines." Medic walked over and inspected his wound, changing the dressing on them.

"As long as you don't move your arm much, you can get back to vork tomorrow," deduced Medic. "You can leave zhis evening once I re-dress your injury one more time." Engineer grinned.

"Whooee! Thanks, Doc!" Medic simply shook his head and began to make his way back to his desk.

"Hey…Doc?" asked Scout quietly. Medic stopped and looked at the boy.

"Yes?" he responded. "Do you need anyzhing?"

"I…I'm sorry…for all the trouble I've caused…" Engineer's smile quickly faded as Medic stared at Scout, his jaw dropping slightly. He quickly regained his composure.

"You don't need to apologize, Scout. Just get some rest. I'll be back in a half hour to check on you." Scout nodded slightly as Medic walked out. Scout stared at his pillow, lost in his thoughts. Engineer watched the young man worriedly.

"Scout?" he hesitantly asked. Scout looked at him. "What's wrong?" Scout frowned, burying his face into his pillow.

"I don't want to talk about it…" he groaned.

"Can I at least ask why you were so upset when you left Sniper's van?"

"Y…You were right about them…about hating each other…" Engineer rubbed his chin with his gloved hand. "It's my fault…they hate each other because of me…"

"What did you do?" Scout shut his eyes tightly, the fake Spy's voice ringing through his ears.

_You little slut. You have two men fawning over you!_

"I-I heard them confess…they both love me…" Engineer blinked.

"That's news to me. I guess I should have seen it, though, with how they both treat you." His words didn't seem to make Scout feel better. Engineer frowned once more. "How do you feel about them?"

_You whore._

"I don't know…I mean, I care a lot about both of them…but I…I know I have to choose one over the other…" Engineer noticed Scout starting to curl up into a little ball as he spoke, shaking once more. Engineer pushed himself out of bed and went up to Scout, rubbing his back and speaking softly.

"Hey, don't worry about it right now. I'm sorry for bringing this up. It's obviously troubling you on top of what you've been through tonight." Scout whimpered lightly, taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling to calm himself down. He didn't want to cry or show weakness, so he did his best to keep it all in and try to be strong.

Engineer tested his arm to see how far he could move it without pulling at his stitches. He smirked when he was satisfied with the amount of movement he needed for what he wanted to do. He walked over to the corner of the infirmary and grabbed his guitar (He had left it in there the other day after replacing one of the strings using one of Medic's tools), bringing it back to his bed. He started to play a soothing tune on his guitar. Scout looked at Engineer, who merely smiled softly back at him as he played. Scout smiled slightly, feeling his eyelids grow heavy once more. In a few short minutes, he was sound asleep, the music being the only thing on his mind.


	11. Fever

_Author's note: Sorry I'm a few days late in updating this. I've had to do a ton of work for classes this week that took up all of my free time. As much as I love graduate school, I hate the work load that comes with it._

_The reviews I've received lately have really touched me! I'm so happy I can make someone else happy with my story! I hope I continue to do so! And thank you once again for these wonderful reviews!_

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Chapter 11 - Fever

The weekend had come. Despite the number of weather-related cease-fires that were called during the week, the normal weekend cease-fire remained. The sun was finally shining and began to melt away some of the snow.

Scout had caught a mild case of pneumonia during his ordeal two nights earlier, but with the amount of rest and medicine he had been receiving, he was on the mend. He remained in the infirmary under Medic's orders. Because of this, the boy became restless. He still had weak and dizzy spells, but they were beginning to be few and far between as he got more rest.

Red would spend most of his time in the infirmary with his son, allowing them some bonding time. Scout wouldn't open up to him about what was bothering him, and his bouts of depression worried him. Red was able to help take his mind off of things by playing different card and board games that were lying around the base.

It was early evening and the two were playing a game of chess. Scout had never played it before, so Red took it upon himself to teach him. Scout studied the board for a few moments before moving his bishop diagonally across the board to take out Red's knight. Scout grinned.

"Ha! Take that, Frog-Legs!" he boasted. Red returned the grin, moving his queen to take out his bishop. Scout scowled.

"Nice try, Gallute," he replied coolly. "You're rushing into attacks blindly. You need to slow down and study all of the possible moves you can make and what your opponent's next move will be." Scout eyed his own knight and moved it, taking out his queen.

"Like that, Hog-Breath?" Red blinked. "By the way, check."

"I did not see that coming, Ignoramus." Red moved his king out of the way, taking out one of Scout's pawns in the process. Medic walked in with a bowl of soup from the mess hall and made his way over to the two men. Medic smirked lightly.

"Ah, chess," he exclaimed. "Who iz vinning right now?"

"Jabroni over here is," replied Scout. Medic blinked at the insult he gave his father. Red smirked.

"Well, Knucklehead? Are you ready to make your losing move?" taunted Red. Medic stared at the two dumbfounded, then shook his head, shrugging. He set the tray of food down on the table next to Scout's bed.

"I brought you some soup," he announced.

"Thanks, Doc," said Scout. As he went to grab his soup, he heard footsteps coming up to the infirmary door. He saw Spy in the doorway with a tray of soup. Scout, Red and Medic turned to look at Spy, who suddenly started feeling awkward. Another pair of footsteps came up and it was Sniper, also with a tray of soup. Spy and Sniper glared at each other, the tension quickly rising between the two. Scout frowned nervously, grabbing his bowl and setting it in his lap. "Um…I've already got soup, guys. Thanks, though..." Spy and Sniper looked at Scout, then simultaneously frowned.

"I see…we should leave you be then," stated Spy. He glared once more at Sniper, then exited the infirmary. Sniper tipped his hat with his free hand, bowing his head lightly, then walked out behind Spy. After a period of awkward silence, a disgusted yowl belonging to Spy could be heard some distance away. "_Mon dieu!_ You got soup on my suit!" Immediately afterward, they could hear Sniper let out a loud, frustrated roar.

"Oh, real mature, wankah! Y'just _had_ t'aim there, didn'tcha!" Medic, unable to take their bickering any longer, stormed out of the infirmary, slamming the door shut behind him. Red shook his head and smirked, hearing Medic's bilingual, infuriated yelling through the walls. He looked back over at Scout, who was slowly stirring his soup with his spoon, staring blankly at it.

"Danny?" he asked worriedly. Scout didn't respond. Red absently played with the pawn he took earlier in his hand. "Listen…I happened to overhear your talk with Dell yesterday about those two." Scout froze. He hadn't thought about what his father's reaction would be to the situation, or about Scout's mutual feelings of the two. "Do you love those two? I mean…in that way?" Scout pursed his lips shut. After a few moments of hesitation, all he could muster in response was a nod, his eyes never leaving his soup. Red scooted closer to Scout and put a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "Look at me." Scout nervously looked at his father, afraid of what he was going to say. "You can't keep avoiding this issue. It's not fair to Spy and Sniper, and it's not fair to you. I'm not saying make a decision right here and now, but you do need to take time to think about who or what will make you happiest. It's ultimately your decision." Scout's eyes widened slightly in shock.

"You…You're not upset?" he asked hesitantly. "I-I mean, with…y'know…I do like girls, too, y'know! I-I'm not a total…" Scout gasped, caught off-guard as Red pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Danny, I spent eighteen years of my life without my only son. Do you really think something like this is going to keep me from being the father you need me to be?" Scout could feel Red shaking a bit. He could hear Red's voice crack lightly. "I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most—growing up and recently with the attacks. It kills me not being able to protect you or watch you grow up into the fine young man you've become." Scout returned the embrace just as tightly and comfortingly—half for his father, and half for himself.

"Dad, it's okay," assured Scout, his own voice cracking as he closed his eyes. "You're here now. That's all that matters. And thanks…for taking me as I am." The two remained as they were for what seemed like an eternity. They slowly broke apart, allowing Red to kiss Scout's forehead gently. Scout smiled slightly at Red, then ate some of his soup. He looked at the chess board.

"What letter were we at?" he asked. Red looked up at the ceiling, thinking.

"I think we left off at 'L'," he answered. Scout grinned, moving his pawn to the end of the board.

"I'll take my queen back, Lame-Brain." Red switched the pawn out for Scout's queen.

"Enjoy her while you can, Moron."

"Whatever, Numb-Nuts."

As the father and son enjoyed their bonding time, neither realized that Medic had been watching from the doorway at the two the whole time, smiling.

* * *

_He was standing outside at the back of the base, throwing his baseball against the wall and playing "catch" with it. He was enjoying the peace and quiet until his father cleared his throat, standing in the doorway leading inside the main part of the base._

"_Ahem…Danny?" called out Red. He caught his ball and looked at Red, smiling._

"_Yo!" he replied. He ran over to his father and walked inside with him. The two met up with Sniper and Spy further into the base. Red stood behind him and placed one hand on his left shoulder, the other around his eyes. Spy and Sniper each took one of his hands. The three began to lead him around the base. "Um, what's going on? Where are you guys taking me?"_

"_We have a special surprise for you," replied Spy._

"_A surprise? What kind?" Sniper chuckled playfully._

"_You'll see," he answered._

_The four stopped walking and Red uncovered his eyes, allowing him to see into the dark room. He looked around curiously, seeing there was nothing in the room except for one light on the ceiling casting a spotlight on himself._

"_What the hell? There's nothing in here!" he complained. He saw Spy and Sniper approach him, grinning. He studied both of them carefully. Spy's eyes, which were normally a bluish-grey, were a deep brown. Sniper was missing the scar on his left cheek and nose that his father had given him six months earlier in a knife fight. He fell into a panic, realizing that these two men weren't the same Spy and Sniper! He fearfully turned around and looked at his father only to discover it wasn't him! It was the same man that had assaulted him the other night!_

"_Surprise!" all three of the men exclaimed sinisterly. He screamed and darted away from them, but not quickly enough. "Sniper" and "Spy" grabbed him on either side, restraining him tightly. "Red" pulled out his butterfly knife and raised it up, aiming to bring it down onto his chest. He struggled wildly, desperately trying to get free._

"_Let me go! Get away from me! HELP!" he cried. His eyes widened in horror at the descending knife. He let out a blood-curdling scream as the knife hit his chest._

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Scout woke up and sat up in bed, letting out a muted scream and breaking into a cold sweat. After taking a few moments to collect himself, he looked around at his surroundings and remembered that he was still in the infirmary. What made his hair stand on edge—besides the nightmare he just had—was the fact that the lights were out. Normally Medic left at least the desk lamp on so he didn't trip just in case he had to get up during the night. Scout noticed the hallway light, which would shine underneath the closed door, was also out.

"I can't stay in here," he whispered to himself. "Something's not right. I've gotta get out of here!" He shakily got out of bed and made his way to the door. He stumbled a few times, dizziness rearing its ugly head, finally stopping about ten feet away from the door to put a hand on his head. His forehead felt hot to him, but he wasn't sure if it was because of his illness or the amount of anxiety he was feeling affecting him.

He froze and felt all of the color leave his skin as he saw the door open on its own. Two figures with flashlights stood in the doorway, shining their lights on him. Scout recognized the silhouettes belonging to Sniper and Spy, but he couldn't see their faces. Sniper and Spy made their way into the infirmary to him.

"Scout?" asked Sniper worriedly. "What are you doin' out of bed?" Scout backed away from them.

"Scout, calm down. It's just us," stated Spy calmly. Scout suddenly remembered his nightmare. He remembered the two approaching him in the same manner. He also remembered that Sniper and Spy had been at each other's throats since the night he heard them confess, and there they were currently working together. In a moment of panic, he ducked down and ran in-between the two, darting into the hallway. Spy and Sniper tried to grab him, but Scout was too quick. "Scout! Come back!"

Scout ran as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was running to, but he knew he had to get away and hide. He felt his strength quickly leaving him, but he pushed himself to continue running. He could no longer hear Sniper and Spy running behind him, but he refused to slow his pace. He was surprised he didn't trip over anything with how pitch black the base was.

He found his way into the training room and closed the door behind him, leaning against it and catching his breath. His fever-induced headache was growing worse and his body was shaking. He walked forward a number of steps before his legs gave out, causing him to collapse onto the cold ground face down. Exhaustion overtook his body. He slowly closed his eyes as darkness claimed his consciousness.


	12. Dueling Hearts

_Author's note: This is probably getting a little old, but thank you once again for the awesome reviews! You have no idea how happy they make me._

_I made some "cover art" for the fic and posted it on DeviantART. This site doesn't like me posting that link, however, so if you go to DeviantART and search my profile, you'll see it. My screenname on there is the same as here._

_Enjoy!_

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Chapter 12 - Dueling Hearts

Red held the flashlight up for Engineer to work on the circuit breaker. Red simply shook his head.

"I can't believe you blew a fuse working on a dispenser," he commented, still amazed at Engineer's feat.

"I wanted to see if I could get its healing effects to work while the respawn barrier is down," stated Engineer. "I wasn't expecting to knock the power out in the process!" He glanced over at Red. "By the way, thanks for helpin' me out. I still can't get my arm up all the way with this injury."

"But of course. You've been a tremendous help with Danny. I just wanted to return the favor." Engineer nodded, then went back to his work.

"Okay, this should be it. Let there be light!" He replaced the fuse and the lights cut back on. The sound of electricity starting up was like music to his ears. The two men laughed, looking up at the lights. "Yeeeeeeeeeehaaaaww! Now to check and see if that dispenser works!"

"Just don't blow out another fuse." Engineer punched Red's arm playfully, laughing. Red rubbed his arm, smirking. The two made their way up the stairs to see Sniper and Spy running through the hallway.

"Woah, boys! Slow down! What the hell's gotten' into ya!" questioned Engineer. Sniper and Spy skidded to a halt and faced the Texan.

"We're tryin' t'find Scout," explained Sniper, rubbing the back of his neck. Red pushed forward.

"What! He's not in the infirmary!" he gasped. Spy had a look of guilt plastered on his face.

"We went to go check on him during the power outage," he stated. "We must have scared him when we came in with the flashlights, and he ran out into the base."

"Dammit! He could be anywhere!" spat Engineer. He looked at Spy and Sniper. "You two: check the west half of the base! Red and I will check the east! Try not to wake everyone else up if you can; we don't need wide-spread panic! And keep your eyes out for anything and anyone suspicious!" Everyone nodded and went their separate ways.

Red and Engineer checked each of the rooms on the east half of the base from corner to corner, looking for possible places Scout could have been hiding. Their worry grew with each empty room they searched. When they finally got to the training room, Engineer stopped Red, eyeing the shut door.

"I don't remember shutting the door when we left…" he uttered. He pulled out his pistol and carefully opened the door, just to be safe. He motioned for the unarmed Red to stay close by. Engineer kicked open the door and pointed his pistol around, aiming for whatever may pop out. Satisfied with the silence, he lowered his pistol and nodded to Red, okaying them to go in. When the two entered, they found Scout lying face down on the ground next to one of Engineer's dispensers.

"Danny!" cried out Red, rushing over to him, Engineer not too far behind. He knelt down next to his unconscious son and turned him over onto his back, checking his vitals. Once Red affirmed the boy was alive and breathing, he scooped his upper body into his arms. He pulled off one of his gloves and placed the back of his hand against his forehead. "He's running a nasty fever."

"I wonder what he thought he saw when Spy and Sniper came into the infirmary," wondered Engineer aloud. "It's hard to tell when you're running high fevers like that. You're prone to hallucinatin'." Scout stirred slightly and slowly opened his eyes, looking up at Red. With the lighting behind Red's head, Scout couldn't get a good look at his face and began to panic. He let out a yelp as he tried to push himself out of Red's grasp. Red held on tighter to keep Scout from hurting himself.

"Danny, calm down!" he pleaded. "It's me!"

"Let me go!" cried Scout. "Don't touch me! HELP!" Engineer's eyes widened.

"Red, I think he thinks you're that other Spy!" he announced. Red quickly ripped off his balaclava, then placed his hand on Scout's shoulder.

"Danny, snap out of it! It's me! It's Dad!" he urged. Engineer stared at Red's exposed face, having seen it for the first time and surprised that a Spy would take his mask off in public in the first place. Spy and Sniper made their way in and stopped, staring horrified at the scene upon hearing Scout's screams for help. They drew their knives, not recognizing Red without his balaclava. They lowered their weapons when Scout finally stopped thrashing about and looked at his father's face, tears pouring from his terrified eyes down his flushed cheeks.

"D-dad…?" he asked hesitantly. Red cupped Scout's face with his left hand and wiped away his tears with his thumb as more fell down. He smiled at his son.

"I'm here, Danny. You're safe now." Scout took a few moments to process everything in his mind before he clung to Red's suit jacket and buried his face into his father's chest, breaking down into loud, hard sobs. Red held him tightly and rubbed his back, rocking him back and forth gently. "Shh, shh…it's okay, Kiddo. It's okay. Just let it all out."

"I-I-I-I thought y-you were h-him…with th-those other guys…"

"What other guys?"

"I-In the inf-firmary…they had the l-lights off, coming in with flashlights for me…just l-like in m-my nightmare…" Red frowned deeply.

_So that's what frightened him_, he thought. _He had a nightmare and couldn't differentiate between it and reality with this fever of his._

"Scout," began Engineer, "the lights were out because I blew a fuse working on a dispenser. That was my fault."

"And those two guys with flashlights were us," added Sniper.

"Sniper and I got worried when we realized you were in there by yourself with the lights out, so we went in to go check on you," explained Spy. "We didn't mean to scare you like that." Scout turned his head to look at Spy and Sniper, who gave him worried, apologetic looks. He pursed his lips together, then buried his face once more, continuing to cry.

_You whiny, clingy, burdensome brat!_

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" he hiccupped in-between sobs. Red kissed the top of his head and held him tighter, rubbing his back again.

"Shh, it's okay, Kiddo. This isn't your fault." Engineer frowned.

"I was wondering when he was going to finally break down like this," he commented quietly, though loud enough for Spy and Sniper to hear. "He's been holdin' all of this in for quite some time." Spy and Sniper frowned, feeling very guilty. Neither wanted to hurt Scout like they just had and felt that it would be best to leave him be, knowing he was in good hands with his father and Engineer there. They both looked at each other, nodded, then began to leave the training room. Engineer got up and grabbed both of them by the shoulder, glaring at them through his goggles. "You two are going to go to the mess hall and wait for me there! I'm goin' to give you a piece of my mind! You're partly to blame for this!" He gestured to Scout. Sniper lowered his head so his hat could hide his guilt-filled eyes while Spy looked away, ashamed for what he had done. "Be there in a half hour, or else…!"

"All right, all right, we're goin'!" exclaimed Sniper defensively, putting his hands up. Spy and Sniper quickly left the room, not wanting to incur more of Engineer's wrath. When the two were gone, Engineer's look softened as he knelt down next to Scout and rubbed his head gently, looking at Red.

"Is he going to be okay?" he asked. Red nodded.

"Now that he's getting all of his pent-up feelings out of his system, I think he'll be fine sooner than we think," he replied. "If he's anything like his mother, he's resilient and will be stronger after this ordeal is done. I'll make sure of that, at least. Just give him time to heal. He's been through a lot."

"You should get him back to the infirmary with that high fever of his. I'll send Medic your way and explain what happened. I'll meet you over there before I have a word with Spy and Sniper to make sure Scout's okay."

"Thank you, Dell." He looked down at Scout, whose sobs were beginning to subside and his body growing limp. "I think we'll be there soon. He's getting exhausted." Engineer nodded, then stood up and left the training room. Red ran his fingers gently through Scout's short hair and looked at him. Scout's sobbing stopped and he rested his head tiredly against his father's chest, fatigued from his emotional break-down. Red gently stroked his son's cheek, wiping away any stray tears that remained. "Are you feeling any better, Kiddo?"

"Mm-hmm," moaned Scout, nodding tiredly.

"Can you stand?" Scout closed his eyes and shook his head. Red scooped his son into his arms and stood up, holding him close as he made his way to the infirmary. "C'mon, let's get you back to bed." Scout rested his head on his father's shoulder and still held onto his jacket with one hand as if it were a security blanket while his other hand remained close to his own chest. His arms were placed in a way to give his small frame some warmth.

"Dad...?"

"Yes, Danny?"

"Please don't tell Ma about all of this...I don't want her to worry..."

"I think your mother would have my head on a silver platter if she learned of this. Don't worry, I won't tell her." Scout yawned loudly as he nodded, his eyelids drooping. As soon as the two arrived at the infirmary, Scout was sound asleep with no more nightmares to plague his dreams.

* * *

Spy and Sniper waited quietly in the mess hall. Sniper sat in a chair with his feet on the table, idly playing with the bullets in his hands from his vest while Spy leaned against the wall, finishing off a cigarette. Spy glanced over at Sniper with just his eyes.

"You do know that people eat off of that table, right?" he asked, sounding a little annoyed. Sniper looked over at him.

"You do know that Demoman puked on th'wall right where you're standing the other night and didn't clean it up, right?" he shot back. Spy jumped away from the wall with a disgusted yelp. Sniper laughed hysterically, leaning back in his chair. "I was just pullin' your leg! Blood 'ell, you're so gullible!" Spy glared daggers at Sniper, walking over.

"Oh really! Why don't I pull something of _yours_ instead!" Spy pulled on the back of Sniper's chair, causing him to fall backwards onto the ground. Spy laughed so hard he began to snort as Sniper lifted his hat up just enough to leer at the Frenchman. Sniper suddenly pounced onto Spy, pinning him down and punching him in the face. Spy kicked Sniper off and pulled out his butterfly knife, gripping it tightly. Sniper immediately pulled out his kukri and began to circle Spy, the other man mirroring his movements. "Let's settle this like gentlemen!" Sniper grinned.

"Ladies first." Spy returned the grin.

"Then why haven't you moved yet?" Sniper narrowed his eyes, not appreciating his own taunt being thrown back at him. He let out a low growl and began charging at Spy. Spy returned the charge and the two clashed weapons. Both men jabbed, slashed, dodged and clashed their weapons, moving gracefully around their opponents. If someone had walked into the mess hall and observed the two, they would have thought they were choreographing a Shakespearean swordfight.

Spy gained the upper hand in the battle and broke through Sniper's defenses. He ducked under his weapon and lunged at the man, tackling him to the ground. Sniper landed on his back and banged his head against the ground hard enough to stun him for a few moments as Spy straddled the man. Spy raised his butterfly knife, ready to go in for the kill until he stared down at Sniper and paused. His eyes widened slightly as his hands began to shake. Sniper stared up at Spy, a shocked look on his face. Spy slowly lowered his hands and head, dropping his knife onto the ground as he took in deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Mon dieu…what am I doing?" he uttered quietly. "What's gotten into me?" Sniper looked up at him and assessed their predicament, also trying to control his breathing from the shock of their fight.

"I think," he began, "we let our 'ate and jealousy for each other consume us." Spy finally calmed down enough to look Sniper in the eye once more. "I know I wanted Scout t'choose me over you, and I wanted you t'stay out of my way."

"I felt the same way," admitted Spy. "And because of that, I let my emotions get the better of me."

"Same 'ere. And because of that…"

"…we've been pushing Scout away." Spy and Sniper both sighed, finally realizing the error of their ways. "If we hadn't have started bickering with each other that night, none of this would have happened to Scout."

"Do you think our fights lately contributed to 'is nightmare 'e 'ad?"

"They very well could have, but we can't be too sure. We don't know all of what that man did to Scout before his father got there except for what he was doing when he did arrive," explained Spy solemnly. Sniper made a repulsed expression on his face.

"I wish I could have killed that bastard myself," he hissed.

"That is something we can both agree on."

"Know something else we can agree on?" Spy looked at Sniper confused. "You getting off of me. This is kind of awkward." Spy suddenly realized he was straddling Sniper's stomach and quickly stood up. Sniper sat up and was about ready to stand when Spy offered him his hand. Sniper looked up at him. The two exchanged a light-hearted grin as Sniper took Spy's hand, allowing himself to be pulled up onto his feet by Spy. Spy gripped Sniper's hand, which confused the Australian.

"Truce?" requested Spy. Sniper returned the grip.

"Truce. Sorry for th'rough treatment lately, Mate."

"Mutually sorry, Amigo. And apology accepted."

"Ditto."

"Well I'll be," interrupted Engineer, who was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed, smirking. Spy and Sniper let go of each other's hands and turned to face the Texan, startled. "Looks like I don't need to make you two a structurally superfluous new behind." Engineer chuckled as Spy and Sniper gave him unamused looks. Engineer's chuckling subsided as he cleared his throat. "In all seriousness, I was about to interrupt you two when I thought Spy was going to stab you, Sniper, but you two seemed to work things out on your own without killing each other." Spy and Sniper looked at each other, then back at Engineer. "I think you both know what to do next, but I'd wait until tomorrow. Scout's finally sleeping."

"How is he?" asked Spy worriedly.

"Exhausted and feverish, but I think he's doing better now that he's gotten everything he's been holding back off of his chest." Sniper frowned.

"Not everything," he corrected. "Did 'e ever tell anyone what th'other Spy did to 'im?" Engineer frowned.

"Not yet, and to be honest, I don't think we'll ever know," confessed Engineer. "It ain't easy for a man to talk about things like that. If he talks: great. If he doesn't: well…that's up to him. Either way, if he's reminded that he has people to turn to if he needs anything or wants to open up, I think that'll be enough for him for now. He's got his dad now, so that's helping him a lot. And now that you two aren't out for each other's blood, that's going to help quite a bit, too." Sniper and Spy nodded. "Well, off to finally check on that dispenser." Engineer tipped his hard-hat to the two men and walked off. Spy took out his disguise kit and pulled out a cigarette. He looked at Sniper.

"Want one?" Sniper looked at him.

"Please."


	13. My Team is My Family

_Author's Note: Holy crap, an EARLY update! Well, there's a reason for that: my mom broke her ankle today, so for the next week, most of my free time is going to be dedicated to helping her out when my dad can't and doing stuff around the house. The rest of it is going to be towards doing a ton of reading for my classes. If I don't update for a week or so, that's why._

_I applied to three different museums for summer internships today, so cross your fingers that I get one of them!_

_Enjoy the new chapter!_

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Chapter 13 - My Team is My Family

Scout slept soundly throughout the night and well into the next afternoon. Medic only awoke him a few times so he could take some medicine, then allowed him to go back to sleep. Red never left his son's side, even when he was on the verge of sleep, as well.

He was surprised at the number of visitors that came in. Demoman and Pyro came early in the morning together once they heard about the incident that happened during the night and were genuinely pleased to see that everyone was okay. Soldier came in shortly after Demoman and Pyro to interrogate Red as to what happened. Once he was satisfied with Red's answer, he gently rubbed the sleeping Scout's head much like Red would, smiled slightly, then left. Heavy would come in with Medic on occasion to see how "Tiny Scout" was doing. Engineer only came in once when he took a break from working on the dispenser to check up on both Scout and Red. Sniper and Spy checked in a lot together, hoping to find Scout awake, but left as soon as they saw that the boy was still sleeping.

Red smiled at his sleeping son tiredly, running his fingers lightly through his hair. He was happy to know that his son was in good hands with the BLU team. He noted the differences between the two teams on the battlefield; while BLU seemed like a close-knit family, RED operated on purely professional terms. Sure, their Medic and Heavy had a close relationship with each other, much like their BLU counterparts, and he had his own budding friendship with RED's Demoman, but that was about it for non-business relationships on his team. His team's Scout annoyed everybody, the Soldier was "bat-shit insane", as he liked to call him, the Sniper was always either holed up in his nest or camper van or out at the only phone on the base talking to his parents and what he assumed was his wife or girlfriend, the Engineer rarely talked to anyone and usually buried himself in his work (much like BLU's Engineer), and the Pyro spent a lot of time in the kitchen, coming up with new ways to make their team's pathetic rations of food taste better for everyone. If Red wasn't afraid of accidentally being set on fire by his own teammate, he would have tried to befriend him.

Red's thoughts were interrupted when BLU's Engineer came rushing into the infirmary with a large blue toolbox in his arms. The Texan was grinning from ear to ear, looking like he had just won the lottery. What surprised Red greatly, however, was that Engineer's wound was no longer dressed. Engineer quickly ran up to him.

"Hey Red, you're not going to believe this!" he exclaimed excitedly. Red quickly put a finger up to his mouth and shushed him, pointing to the still-sleeping Scout. Engineer cringed apologetically, then looked at Red once more. "I got the dispenser to work! I tested it on myself, and it healed my gunshot wound!" Red's tired face lit up.

"Excellent!" he exclaimed quietly. "Do you think it will work on Danny?"

"That's why I brought it in here. I've never tested it on someone who was sick, but there's no harm in trying. Literally, no harm." Red watched in utter fascination as Engineer quickly erected the dispenser. He motioned for Red to step aside as he turned on the dispenser. Red did as he was told and saw the dispenser's effects begin to positively affect Scout. His pale skin slowly returned to its normal, healthy color and his rough breathing began to calm. Red carefully checked Scout's forehead and was satisfied to see that his fever was gone. Red turned to Engineer in awe.

"Dell, you're amazing! I think you got rid of his illness!" Engineer grinned like a child at Christmas. Red, in a moment of pure excitement, wrapped his arms around Engineer and hugged him tightly, spinning him around. "Thank you so much!" Engineer laughed awkwardly.

"I-I'm glad he's okay, too, but could you put me down? This ain't exactly comfortable." Red set him down upon command and straightened out his suit, clearing his throat and regaining his normal composure.

"In all seriousness, Dell, I'm amazed at how quickly you were able to construct your dispenser. I mean, I've always been impressed at these feats that you and my own team's Engineer have been able to execute, but I'm even more amazed today." Engineer chuckled.

"You're Scout's father alright." Red looked at him, confused. "Your son expressed the same kind of amazement earlier this week when we were looking for good places for my sentries." Red smiled.

"I'm happy to know that he's in good hands here. To be honest, I was worried about how his team was going to treat him since my team isn't very fond of our own Scout. I'm relieved to see that he hasn't received poor treatment here."

"There's a major difference between your team's Scout and ours. Yours is an annoying, narcissistic, boisterous prick—ours can be annoying at times, but he's a good kid. His head and his heart are in the right place." They both stopped when they heard Scout groan. They looked over at the young man and saw him sit up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Why did I have to wake up to you two using big words?" he complained. Red walked over to his son and instantly hugged him, catching Scout off-guard.

"We were just bragging about you, that's all," confessed Red. He looked down at his son. "How are you feeling, Kiddo?" Scout smirked.

"I feel great! Maybe I can actually get out of bed and do something now!" With those words, Scout pushed the covers off of himself and hopped out of bed. As well as he felt, however, he was still pretty weak. His legs gave out from underneath him, but Red was able to quickly catch him and hold him up. "Woah, okay…probably not the best idea."

"You still need some rest," explained Red, helping Scout stand up on his own. "Your pneumonia may be gone, but you still need some more rest to regain your strength."

"Not sure how much rest he'll be getting today," admitted Engineer. Red and Scout looked over at him. "Soldier's having a team meeting today in the conference room. Apparently we're going to have a teleconference with RED." Red blinked.

"When and how was this arranged?" Engineer rubbed his chin.

"According to Soldier, your team's Demoman was able to communicate with him and the two agreed to the teleconference." Red smiled.

"I'm glad to know that Tavish is still willing to help even in my absence." Scout frowned.

"Are you goin' back to RED anytime soon?" he asked timidly. Red looked down at his son, then smiled and rubbed his head, messing up his hair.

"If I could have it my way, I would stay here with you," admitted Red. "However, there may be a point where I'll have to go back to my team." Scout lowered his head slightly and stared at his father's tie, thinking to himself. After a moment, he looked up at Red and smirked.

"Hey, you've gotta do what you've gotta do, Dad. It ain't goin' to keep me from doin' my job!" Red laughed and patted Scout on the back while Engineer chuckled to himself, looking at the father and son standing before him.

"In all honesty, I can rest easy knowing that you're in good hands with BLU. I don't know if you realize it, but your teammates care a lot about you." Scout's smirk faded as he looked at his father in amazement. "Your entire team came in to check on you while you were sleeping to see how you were doing. They were even here after you were brought back to the base and refused to leave until they knew you would be okay." Scout looked over at Engineer, who nodded in confirmation. Scout looked down at the ground, scratching his temple and smiling nervously. He hadn't realized until recently just how much his teammates meant to him. He had been close with them before, at least in his own mind, but he didn't know that his team felt the same about him until he needed them the most. They truly were like his family away from home, and it gave him, as his mother would put it when he was younger, "warm fuzzies" inside of him.

His inner musings were interrupted when Medic entered the infirmary. The three men turned their attention to him when the German cleared his throat and made his way over to the group.

"I see zhat you are feeling better, Herr Scout?" he asked. Scout smirked and nodded. Red grinned happily.

"Thanks to Dell tweaking his dispenser, he was able to not only heal his gunshot wound, but cure Danny of his pneumonia," he explained. Medic crossed his arms.

"I vill conduct a check-up on Scout to be sure. In zhe meantime, you two should make your vay over to zhe conference room. I vill join you soon." Scout blinked.

"What about me?" he questioned. "Ain't I comin' along?"

"I vant you to get some more rest. However, you may leave zhe infirmary and sleep in your own bed. You may vant to change into a fresh set of clothes to prevent the spread of zhe illness you had." Scout ran a hand through his hair, suddenly realizing how greasy it was.

"Uck…and a shower. I feel gross." Engineer snickered, covering his mouth with his gloved hand. Red shook his head and smirked. He patted Scout on the head once more as he headed toward the door with Engineer.

"Go ahead and get cleaned up," he said tenderly. "I'll see you at dinner." Scout smiled back at his father and watched him and Engineer exit the infirmary.

* * *

Red and Engineer arrived in the conference room and saw the rest of the team (sans Medic and Scout) sitting at the conference table. Engineer took a seat next to Soldier while Red sat next to Heavy. About ten minutes later, Medic entered the conference room and took a seat on the other side of Heavy. Soldier stood up and faced the team. Red could tell Soldier hadn't been sleeping well when the light hit him at the right angle. He could see the dark circles under the man's eyes.

"Okay, is this everyone that we were expecting?" he asked, the tiredness in his voice apparent. Medic cleared his throat.

"Yes, Herr Soldier," he answered. "Scout vill not be joining us for the meeting. I shall volunteer to bring him up to speed at dinner, where he vill be joining us." Red could hear a number of relieved sighs resonate in the room. Soldier cleared his throat.

"Very well. Pyro: hit the start button!" Pyro saluted and let out a muffled response (Red could only assume the man said "Yes, sir!"). Once he hit the button, the screen lit up and the camera began to roll. The footage on the screen was the entire RED team (sans Spy) in their conference room. The two Soldiers crossed their arms and stared at each other. BLU's Soldier would occasionally glance over at RED's Demoman before bringing his attention back to their Soldier. "I'm assuming your Demoman explained to you what's been going on?"

"He left out some important details," answered RED's Soldier. "Like, for instance, why the hell OUR Spy is in YOUR conference room! Demo said that he left to get help for your Scout at your base, but he never returned! Spy: you'd better have a damn good explanation for your treachery!" Red stood up, adjusting his tie.

"Of course," he replied. "I offered myself as a prisoner of war to the BLU team to ensure my son's safe recovery. If I had done the deed myself, I most definitely would have been labeled a traitor, as would Tavish."

"If I may interrupt," requested Spy. Everyone's attention turned to the BLU member. "The Announ—er, Administrator—was well aware of our group's actions—your Spy and Demoman and our Sniper, Scout, Engineer and myself—and has sent agents out to eliminate us. Everyone here is well aware that by conversing like this about the situation at hand that everyone is now her target?"

"If she killed everyone, wouldn't her little war that she's waging end?" questioned RED's Engineer.

"Not to mention the Australium mines would be exposed to the public," added BLU's Engineer.

"Still," interjected BLU's Soldier, "we should all keep our guard up. Red did say that the fake Spy vowed that there would be more coming from where he came from. We know from the past that The Administrator is a master of manipulation and giving out orders."

"So are we still goin' to be killin' each other on the battlefield?" asked RED's Scout. "'Cause I'd rather be battin' that crazy bitch's head in instead!"

"Shut up, Scout," scolded Red calmly, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Be wary of what you say, for it could come back to haunt you someday. What we're all doing is technically treason, and we're on very thin ice with her at the moment. One wrong move could put everyone in jeopardy. Don't forget that there are large munitions of explosives at a majority of these bases that she has at her instant disposal and we have the lives of civilian workers that we need to take into consideration." Everyone's faces turned grim. They were well aware of the large explosives in question stationed in the restricted areas of the bases they had fought at. RED's Scout rubbed his head, frustrated.

"Would ya quit talkin' all fancy an' stuff!"

"Shut up, Scout," ordered RED's Sniper firmly, glaring at him. The young man huffed and turned his head away like a spoiled child, crossing his arms. Red cleared his throat.

"Getting back to the topic at hand," he began, "may I make a suggestion?" All eyes were on him. "Before each battle, I believe that our Engineers should check the respawn barrier to make sure that nothing has been tampered with, just as a safety precaution. We don't know what our boss is fully capable of, so I'd rather cover all of our bases just to be safe—no pun intended."

"Heh, like in baseball!" chuckled RED's Scout. "See, 'cause you have to get to the base before…"

"SHUT UP, SCOUT!" shouted everyone simultaneously. RED's Scout glanced at his team, then the one on his screen, then brought his hand up and lowered the brim of his baseball cap, hiding his face as he pouted like a child once more.

"Anyway," said RED's Soldier, breaking the silence. "Yeah, that sounds like a safe idea, Spy. Engies: can you two handle it?" Both Engineers looked at each other, grinned and gave each other a thumbs-up.

"Not a problem!" exclaimed BLU's Engineer.

"We'll be fighting again tomorrow, so we'll need to be at our best on the battlefield, Maggots!" shouted BLU's Soldier. "As soon as one of our teams comes up with a plan to stop The Administrator, we will set up another teleconference! Until then, if there are no objections, you are dismissed! BLU's: dinner is in a half hour!"

"Hold on a minute!" interjected RED's Soldier. "What about our Spy! I demand that he be returned to our base!" Red frowned. He wasn't ready to leave his son behind just yet—not until he knew that Scout was going to emotionally be okay. BLU's Spy stood up and faced RED's Soldier on the screen.

"As you're well aware," he began, "your Spy is our Scout's father, and our Scout has been through quite a lot psychologically with this ordeal. He has been instrumental in Scout's recovery, and we feel that it would be a good idea for Red to stay until he has fully recovered. If you will allow your Spy to remain with us until we change locations at the end of the week, I will remain off of the battlefield as well to balance the teams out." Both teams stared at Spy in shock, especially BLU's Sniper. Spy looked down at the Australian next to him and made eye contact. Sniper understood what Spy was conveying in his eyes and nodded, smirking. Red eyed the two, a bit confused about their strange behavior. His attention turned back to his team's Soldier, who sighed.

"Very well," he conceded. He looked at BLU's Soldier. "Do you have an issue with this?"

"Negatory," answered his BLU counterpart. Red let out a sigh of relief, smiling. "And now that we have that settled…Dismissed!" Both teams cut off transmission with each other and began to file out of the conference room. Red was about to head to the private quarters when Spy and Sniper stopped him. Red gave them confused looks.

"May I help you?" he asked the two of them.

"If it's alright with you," began Sniper, "Spy and I would like to 'ave a word with Scout." Red cocked an eyebrow.

"We wanted to apologize to him for the way we've been acting as of late," explained Spy. "And we wanted to update him on what happened during the meeting." Red smirked.

"You don't have to get my permission for that," he stated. "Just try not to scare him again." Spy and Sniper nodded. Red bowed his head and began to head in the opposite direction. "I will see you at dinner, then." Once Red was out of sight, Spy and Sniper began to make their way to Scout's bedroom, determined to set things right.


	14. Evil Has a Name  Part 1

_Author's note: I'm back! Now that things have settled down a little (and I have some free-time at work), I have a chance to get back on a normal update schedule! Thanks to everyone who was concerned; Mom's doing better now, though she still needs crutches for the next few weeks._

_Keep those reviews coming! Thanks again for your support!_

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Chapter 14 - Evil Has a Name - Part 1

As quickly as he usually showered, Scout decided to let the hot water splash against his body longer. After not having showered for days because of his illness, he felt more refreshed after cleansing his body. It had been a long time since he had showered alone, and it felt comforting not having wandering sets of eyes on his nude form. He was never self-conscious of himself, but with recent events, it would take a while to feel comfortable again in the presence of others with his clothes off. His time of solitude in the shower coupled with the soothing effects of the steam from the hot water allowed him a chance to clear his clouded mind and contemplate his circumstances.

He first thought of Spy. The Frenchman always knew how to make him feel special. From miniscule things like random compliments to more meaningful gestures like holding him close to keep him warm in the blizzard made him feel like he was worth more than just being the fast guy on the team. Even if Scout never voiced his concerns, Spy not only knew what was wrong but how to remedy it without needing to be asked or told. Whenever Spy got into close proximity of him, he could feel butterflies in his stomach flying around wildly as if they had a few cans of "Bonk!" and copious amounts of caffeine.

Those butterflies would return every time he was with Sniper, as well. The Australian was always watching out for him and willing to risk his life to protect him. Scout felt safe with him and always had a hard time containing his blushing whenever Sniper offered to comfort or hold him. He always put a smile on his face, and he knew he could count on Sniper to cheer him up if he needed it.

Scout sighed. He had been thinking of the two men constantly ever since he heard them confess their feelings of love for him and essentially declare war on each other. He was having such a hard time deciding who he was going to choose to be with. He loved both men dearly and hated the idea of ultimately having to hurt one of them. Would he lose a friendship with the one he didn't choose? Would Spy and Sniper still hate each other? How would a budding relationship affect his and his team's performance?

_You whore._

Scout hugged himself and shut his eyes tightly. He had tried to forget about the Spy that posed as his father, but the man's voice kept haunting him both in his dreams and his waking life. He was incredibly thankful the man couldn't do too much to him, but it made him sick to his stomach that he even attempted to and would have succeeded had his father and RED's Demoman not come to his rescue.

He placed a hand over his mouth, resisting the urge to hurl right then and there. His lips against his wet hand brought back memories of that man's lips forcefully on his. The man had stolen his first kiss—the one he was saving for his first girlfriend or boyfriend (his obnoxious behavior growing up kept him from getting a date with anybody). He felt disgusted with himself for even allowing it to happen and not fighting back enough.

He took a few deep breaths to settle his stomach before shutting off the water. He grabbed his towel and quickly dried himself off. He wrapped the towel around himself and made his way to his room. He put on his uniform and sat down on his bed, putting on his socks with his hand wraps lying next to him on the covers. As he reached for his shoes, he heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Oi, it's us!" bellowed Sniper on the other side.

"May we come in?" requested Spy.

"Uh, yeah," replied Scout. The door opened and the two men entered, shutting the door behind them. They sat down on either side of him on the bed. "So…what's up?"

"We wanted to see how you were feeling and apologize for scaring you last night," explained Spy. Scout frowned.

"It ain't your fault. Dad and Engie think my fever made me see you guys as something you weren't."

"Regardless," began Sniper, "we're sorry for the whole incident." Scout looked at the two hesitantly, his stomach suddenly not feeling well again. Sniper noticed his sudden change in skin color and frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just an upset stomach," stated Scout. "I don't feel like moving right now, though." Spy noticed he was sitting on Scout's hand wraps and picked them up. He smiled at the boy.

"Why don't we help you finish getting ready for dinner?" he suggested. Scout blinked, confused. _That was an odd suggestion_, he thought. He didn't get a chance to refuse the help when Spy gently took one of his hands and began to wrap it. Sniper knelt down on the ground and put Scout's shoes on his feet. He began to tie his shoelaces as Spy moved to the other hand. The sick feeling that should have been butterflies in his stomach began to grow worse.

"Guys, you can stop now," he pleaded. "This is gettin' pretty awkward." Spy leaned in close to his ear, his hot breath tickling Scout's neck.

"You're not enjoying this, you little whore?" he asked in an all-too-familiar voice. The color in Scout's skin quickly vanished as a wave of panic struck him. He immediately tried to get away and call for help, but his screams were muffled by the Spy's hand clamping over his mouth as a butterfly knife was held up to his throat, stopping his forward movement. He tried to kick at the Sniper that grabbed his wrists, but found that his shoelaces were tied in a way as to prevent him from separating his feet. He winced as he felt the knife press into his neck enough to draw blood. The Sniper began to bind Scout's wrists in front of him with the remaining hand wrap. The Spy turned Scout's head to face him. Scout recognized the man's hazel eyes. He began to tremble when the man grinned menacingly at him.

"Thought I was dead, boy?" he taunted. "Isn't the respawn barrier a beautiful thing? Yes…that's how I came back from the depths of Hell. I was given a mission, and I'm going to see it through to the end! And you, boy, are going to bring your father and everyone else to me!"

"All finished tyin' him up, Bane," stated the Sniper. Bane's eyes lit up in anger as he pulled the knife away from Scout's neck and pocketed it. He quickly drew his revolver and pointed it at the Sniper's chest. Scout was able to get a good look at the Sniper and saw that he was missing his Sniper's trademark scar. The two men stared evenly at each other as the Sniper held his hands up defensively.

"Utter my name again and I won't hesitate to rat you out," hissed Bane. "I don't care what your connection to the Administrator is; you will obey my orders when you are on my missions!"

"For the record," began the Sniper, "I'm only putting up with you to get rid of RED's Spy. That's my only target."

"You're lucky he's our primary one. Everyone else he got involved is just a speed bump that knows too much and should be eliminated."

"Then why are you so fascinated with the boy?" Bane glanced at Scout, a sick grin forming on his face. He turned his head to face Sniper, his expression unchanging.

"Because," he began, "to get to the father, you have to get to his son." During Bane and the fake Sniper's chatter, Scout managed to slip his feet out of his shoes. He kicked the Sniper in the groin as hard as he could, causing the man to double over. With one obstacle out of the way, Scout punched Bane's jaw from underneath his chin as hard as he could with both fists. Once Scout was free, he darted for the door and opened it. He jumped out into the hallway and spotted the real Spy and Sniper walking in his direction. Upon seeing him, they began to quicken their pace.

"Scout!" they cried out simultaneously. Before Scout could run to them, Bane roughly grabbed him and clamped a hand over his mouth once more, pulling him back into the bedroom. The door slammed and locked shut as soon as Spy and Sniper got there. Scout struggled wildly against the man, trying to kick at his knees. Bane slammed Scout down onto his bed and pinned him down, keeping a hand over the boy's mouth as he reached for a sock to use as a gag.

Once he regained his composure, the Sniper pulled out his submachine gun and pointed it at the door. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Bane had successfully gagged Scout and was holding his tied hands above his head while straddling his stomach.

"Feisty one, ain't he?" he rhetorically asked. Bane looked at his partner.

"As soon as the door opens, kill the Spy and Sniper," he ordered. "That'll give us enough time to get out of the base with Scout before they alert the rest of the team when they respawn." Scout struggled furiously, letting out muffled protests, but Bane was stronger and heavier than he expected. He was quickly losing energy in his failed efforts. He didn't want to show it, but he was terrified of the man on top of him. He was fearful of what he was capable of doing to him, his father and his teammates. Now that he knew the respawn barrier was up, he knew Bane was going to be back for more. Bane simply grinned at the teen. "Don't worry, boy. We'll be leaving here soon."

"Get away from him!" roared Spy as the door was kicked in. The Sniper in the room began firing his submachine gun, but the real Sniper was in front of Spy with his Darwin's Danger Shield protecting them both from the onslaught of bullets. Spy reached around the shield and shot the other Sniper with his revolver in the head, killing him instantly. Sniper threw his shield down and pulled out his sniper rifle. Before Sniper could properly aim it at his enemy, Bane got off of Scout and pulled him in front of himself, using Scout as a human shield.

"Go ahead, shoot me," dared Bane. "I'll die, but so will he. Now, would you really kill the man you love?" Spy and Sniper leered at the man. Bane held Scout closer and brought a hand up from behind to cup his cheek. "Would you kill such a beautiful face?"

"You coward!" shouted Spy. "Get your filthy hands off of him!" Bane simply laughed maniacally.

"Face it: you're powerless to do anything!" He began to back up with Scout towards the window. Scout managed to loosen the gag around his mouth and let it drop.

"Snipes, shoot us!" he screamed. Spy and Sniper stared at him in horror. "I'll respawn! The barrier's up! DO IT!" Bane took his hand off Scout's face and began to dig his fingers into Scout's neck, strangling him. Scout let out a pained cry, gasping for air.

"You little shit!" he hissed. Spy was normally one to not lose his composure in a heated situation, but what was happening was pushing him over the edge. He was about to rush at the man with his butterfly knife when Sniper put an arm up to stop him.

"Spy, get to th'respawn room quickly," whispered Sniper. Spy stared at him wide-eyed, then nodded, knowing what his friend was about to do. He hated even _thinking _about what was about to happen, but he knew it was all for Scout. He quickly darted out of the room as Sniper aimed his sniper rifle at Scout's chest. "I'm sorry, Mate…" He held his breath to steady himself, then closed his eyes tightly and pulled the trigger. The bullet went straight through Scout and Bane's chests, killing them both instantly. Sniper knew the bodies would disappear shortly, but he couldn't bear to be in the room any longer. He couldn't even bring himself to double check the bodies; he knew they were both dead. He ran as fast as he could out of the room, hoping his shades would hide the tears in his eyes.


	15. Evil Has a Name Part 2

_Author's Note: The reviews you all have been giving me have been amazing! Thank you so much! You really brighten my spirits after a long day at work. I often go back and re-read the reviews you've given me when I'm lacking a creative drive and it helps me get back in the groove of things! Again, thank you!_

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Chapter 15 - Evil Has a Name - Part 2

Scout respawned in the locker room. The cut on his neck from Bane's butterfly knife had disappeared, but his hands were still tied in front of him. He quickly made his way over to Demoman's cubby where he kept his Eyelander. He rubbed his bindings against the blade to cut them, freeing his hands. His stomach began to churn worse than before. Scout rushed over to a trash can and fell onto his knees, puking into it.

Spy ran into the locker room and rushed over to Scout upon seeing him doubled over. He knelt next to the boy as Scout began to cough, spitting out whatever was left in his system. Spy rubbed his back soothingly and offered him his handkerchief to clean himself up with. Scout took it with a shaky hand and nodded in gratitude, cleaning himself up.

"Th-thanks, Sp-py," choked Scout. "I'll give it back after I wash it."

"Keep it," offered Spy. "I've got plenty." Spy helped Scout get to his feet and lead him over to the benches, sitting down next to him. Spy kept a comforting arm around Scout, rubbing his shoulder gently. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Bane…that bastard's name is Bane. He's the same one from before!" Spy gasped lightly as his eyes widened.

"He survived RED Demoman's sticky bombs!"

"The freakin' respawn barrier's been up the whole time! He's goin' to keep comin' back! Comin' back for me…" Spy could tell Scout was about to have a panic attack. As shook up as Spy was about the whole situation, he did his best to remain calm for Scout's sake. He pulled the young man into a comforting embrace and rubbed soothing circles into his back.

"Shh, calm down. It's okay. You're safe now." Spy could feel Scout shaking as he clung to his suit. Spy held Scout closer, kissing the top of his head. "It's okay." Just then, Sniper ran into the locker room, panting for breath. He sighed shakily in relief once he saw Scout was in there. He made his way over to the two men and sat down on Scout's other side, rubbing his back. Spy looked at Sniper and frowned when he saw how visibly shaken the man was. "Sniper, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," stated Sniper. "Don't worry about me. I've alerted th'rest of th'team, so they should be 'ere shortly." He turned his attention to Scout. "Are you okay, Scout?" Scout sat up and looked at Sniper.

"Snipes, I…I'm sorry I made you shoot me," apologized Scout, his voice cracking. "I didn't know how to get away from him otherwise…" Sniper looked at Spy, who gave him an assuring nod. Sniper looked back down at Scout and put an arm around his shoulders, hugging him comfortingly. Spy put his arm back around Scout's shoulders, his arm resting above Sniper's.

"I'll be honest: I 'ated 'avin' t'shoot you. It's th'one thing I've never wanted t'do. I couldn't even look when I pulled th'trigger. But I knew…Spy and I both knew…that we 'ad t'get you away from that monster. And for that reason alone is why I complied with your wishes. I just didn't want t'urt you any more than you already were." Scout frowned and lowered his head, hugging himself.

"I was more afraid of what Bane was goin' to do to me than bein' shot. And with the respawn barrier still up, he's just goin' to keep comin' for me…" Spy frowned. He hated seeing the once proud, cocky, unafraid Scout act like a frightened bunny cornered by a snake. He had to know what Bane did to Scout to traumatize him so much.

"Scout…did he do anything to you?" he asked hesitantly. "Did he…?" Scout shook his head. Sniper and Spy let out a sigh of relief. Spy's frown deepened. "Was he going to?" Scout let out the sob he was holding back and nodded, curling into a little ball where he sat and burying his face into his hands in shame. Sniper nudged Scout over to Spy, who embraced the crying boy once more and rubbed his back gently. Scout buried his face into Spy's chest and clung to his suit, trembling. Sniper glared down at his clenched fists in his lap, resisting the urge to destroy the room. Once he calmed himself down enough, he knelt down on the ground in front of Scout, looking up at him.

"Scout, look at me," he ordered gently. Scout turned his head to look down at him. Sniper reached up to cup the boy's face with his calloused hands and wipe away his tears with his thumbs. Spy looked down at Sniper as the Australian gave Scout a determined look. "We're not going t'let that happen. Spy, your dad, myself and th'rest of th'team are looking out for you. We're going t'get through this together. Right, Spy?" He looked up at Spy, who nodded in agreement.

"But of course, mon petit lapin," agreed Spy. Scout sniffed, took a deep breath and exhaled, finally calming down. He wiped his eyes dry with the heel of his unwrapped hand.

"Thanks, guys," he choked. He suddenly blinked, then looked between the two. "Wait a minute…you two don't hate each other anymore?" Spy gently placed a hand on Scout's head.

"Now that the three of us are here, we can finally give you a formal apology for our crass behavior. We let our emotions get the better of us and didn't even consider your feelings."

"We feel responsible for what happened t'you th'other night," confessed Sniper. "We drove you out of th'camper with our fighting, which put you in danger." Scout shook his head.

"Guys, it ain't your fault," he assured them. "And I'm sorry, too, for leading you two on like this." Spy and Sniper gave him a confused look. "I…I love you both, and it ain't fair to you two with me bein' so indecisive, but…I'm still tryin' to decide what I want. I'm sorry."

"Scout, quit apologizing," said Spy. "We understand." Sniper grinned.

"Did you just use a big word, Scout?" he asked, teasing. Scout grabbed Sniper's hat and smacked him with it, causing everyone to laugh, including Scout.

"Shut up, Snipes!" he laughed. Once his laughter subsided and Sniper had taken his hat back, Spy sighed and smiled, relieved to hear Scout laughing again. Just then, Red and the rest of the BLU team rushed into the locker room. Red ran ahead of everyone straight to Scout.

"Danny! Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. Scout's smile quickly shifted to an angry look. He stood up and tackled Red to the ground, punching him in the face.

"You!" the Bostonian roared. "What the _fuck_ did you do to piss off the Administrator?"

"Wh-what…?" Red stared up in shock at Scout, who was sitting on his stomach and clinging tightly to his suit.

"Scout, calm down!" yelled Soldier. "That is an order!"

"What the hell's gotten into you, Scout!" questioned Engineer, still in shock. Scout ignored them and continued to glare at his father.

"That bastard that we thought was dead is still alive!" he screamed. Red's eyes widened further. "He came back for me tonight with a Sniper who also has a connection to that bitch! The only reason he keeps coming for me is because of you! What the hell did you do!"

"If it's because of the investigation," began Spy, "wouldn't they be coming for all of us?"

"They just want you guys dead. They really want to make Dad suffer for whatever he did, and they're doing it through me!" Scout narrowed his eyes more at Red. "What…did…you…do?" Red was at a loss for words.

"I honestly don't know," he confessed, stunned.

"Well figure it out! I'm sick of havin' to sleep with one eye open at night! I'm sick of havin' nightmares that scare the shit out of me! I'm sick of havin' to second-guess who my teammates are because I think they're that sick bastard!" Red frowned deeply. "Either fix it or end it! I'm tired, Dad! I'm tired of constantly livin' in fear!"

"If I knew what she looked like, I'd know instantly what my wrongdoings were," he admitted. "Her voice sounds familiar, but I can't quite put a voice to a face." Soldier made a face.

"Trust me: she ain't pretty," he scoffed. He turned to Scout. "Once you get off of your dad, you have some questions to answer." Scout scowled and stood up, not offering to help Red up. Red frowned deeper and stood up on his own, brushing himself off. Scout faced Soldier. "I want a full description of these two men so we know who to look out for in the base."

"Bane, the Spy, has hazel eyes and a deep voice—deeper than Dad's," explained Scout. "I don't know the Sniper's name, but he's missin' the scar that Snipes has on his face." Sniper absently touched the scar on his left cheek and nose, remembering that it was Red who had given it to him a few months back. Because he got the gash right when the ceasefire was called, Medic was unable to use his Medigun to heal him, thus leaving a scar that would remain with him for the rest of his life. His attention turned to Scout as the boy began to speak again. "That Sniper has some kind of important connection with the Administrator and is only out to kill Dad. He doesn't care about the rest of us, and I can tell he doesn't like Bane, either."

"If those two respawned," started Engineer, "then that means they have a respawn point like the REDs and we do, and it's within the confines of the barrier."

"When we're battling tomorrow, keep your eyes open for any suspicious places and behavior," ordered Soldier. "Spy: since you and Red won't be on the battlefield, I want you to sneak off sight into the civilian areas and see if you can find anything that looks like a respawn point." Spy and Red looked at each other, then nodded. "Scout: you're sticking with me tomorrow. We'll make sure those two are in eyesight of us so we can back them up if they need it. You are not to leave my sight at all under any circumstances. Understand?" Scout nodded. "In fact, I don't want you or Red out of eyesight of anybody while you're on the base. You're sticking with one of us at all times, and someone will be sharing a room with you until this spy is permanently taken care of. Red: you'll be staying with Engie."

"No complaints here," added Engineer. Red nodded in agreement.

"Spy and I can stay with Scout," volunteered Sniper. Scout looked at him, then at Spy, then smiled slightly.

"I don't have a problem with that," admitted Scout. Soldier nodded.

"Very well. You three will be in Scout's room," announced Soldier. "Anything else?" Everyone shook their heads. "Good. Then let's get some dinner before our food gets cold!" Pyro held up his flamethrower. "No, Pyro. You can't set it on fire to re-heat it." Pyro let out a dejected moan, lowering the flamethrower.

As everyone began to leave the locker room and walk to the mess hall, Red caught up with Scout, who was walking with Spy and Sniper. He put a hand on Scout's shoulder, but Scout brushed it off. He shot a glare at Red.

"I'm not speaking to you until you figure out what you did," scolded Scout. Red stopped and stared at Scout in shock. He frowned dejectedly, watching his son walk off with Spy and Sniper. Engineer put a hand on Red's shoulder.

"Don't worry. We'll figure it out," he stated.

"I just hope it's something that can be corrected," sighed Red.


	16. The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

_Author's Note: Y'know what I love about writing suspense stories? Reading these reviews where the reviewer is either like, "Gah! Cliffhanger! Curse you!" or they try to speculate about what will happen next! Thanks again for the reviews, and I hope I can keep you suspenseful with my story!_

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Chapter 16 - The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

Early the next morning, both Engineers made their way to the respawn barrier power source. They arrived at about the same time and began to check everything over. Dell –BLU's Engineer – glanced at his RED counterpart's gloved right hand. He placed a hand over his own gloved one and began to ponder about the similarities in their two uniforms. He turned his attention to his counterpart's face.

"Hey, uh, buddy," he spoke, breaking the silence between them. RED's Engineer glanced at him with a kind grin.

"Bill," he replied. "And you're Dell Conagher, right?" Dell nodded.

"Yup, but you can just call me Dell. Anyway, I wanted to ask you something that's been bothering me for a while." Bill stopped his work and gave Dell his undivided attention. "You and I both know how to build sentries, dispensers and teleporters efficiently and identically, right?"

"Right…"

"And we dress similarly down to the same rubber glove on our right hands, right?"

"Yeah…what are you getting at, partner?"

"First off, how did you acquire the blueprints for my grandfather and mine's inventions, and what's under your glove?" Bill suddenly felt awkward.

"Well, for the blueprints, my boss – er, our boss – got them from TF Industries and gave them to me to use in battle to even the playing field." Dell nodded slowly, understanding a want for balance for The Administrator's little war game to continue. "As for my hand…" He removed his glove and revealed a robotic hand. Dell's eyes widened in shock underneath his goggles.

"What in tarnation?" he uttered, unconsciously gripping his own gloved hand. "What happened to you?" Bill grinned a bit.

"We both have this beauty of a Gunslinger, don't we? Well, when I was given the blueprints for it, I decided to saw my hand off to use it." Dell started to feel a little sick to his stomach. "Didn't you do the same thing?"

"My grandfather did, but not me. I lost my hand in an accident at TF Industries and replaced it with the Gunslinger. It's very rare that I use it in battle." Bill frowned.

"Sorry, man." Silence fell on them once more as they got back to inspecting the barrier. After working like that for a few minutes, Dell broke the silence again.

"Hey, Bill, take a look at this," he ordered softly, pointing to a device attached to the core of the power source. Bill maneuvered his way over on his knees and looked at where Dell was pointing. "This purple device here looks like it overrides the automatic settings for the barrier and is controlled remotely."

"So The Administrator can switch it on and off as she pleases?" questioned Bill. Dell nodded. Bill furrowed his brows. "It's way too dangerous for her to have this kind of control over our lives. We need to remedy that." Dell grinned a mischievous grin.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Bill returned the same grin.

"About disabling this remote device and constructing one of our own?"

"Bingo. If you can restore the barrier to its original settings, I'll gut the remote device and make one of our own after the battle."

"Consider it done!"

The entire BLU team (sans Spy) and Red made their way to the respawn room, ready for the day's battle. The team was about a half hour early mostly to make sure their plan from last night was ready to be executed. Soldier faced the team and crossed his arms.

"Are you maggots ready for Operation: Purple?" he questioned. Everyone gave him a confused look.

"Purple? Really?" asked Scout in a monotone, cocking an eyebrow.

"What! That Spy has disguised himself as both a RED and a BLU, and if you mix those two colors together, you get purple!"

"Solly," sighed Engineer. "You're not allowed to name missions anymore." Soldier opened his mouth to shout something in protest, but decided against it and closed it. The rest of the team grinned, knowing that Engineer was the only one who could get away with ordering Soldier around.

"Anyway, Spy should be back shortly once he's found an opening into the civilian area. Once we know where it is, Scout and I will hover around that opening and cover Spy and Red. Sniper: I want you to keep an extra eye out for us. The rest of you: business as usual!" The entire team nodded. A few moments later, Spy made his way into the respawn room with a scowl on his face. Soldier mirrored Spy's expression. "That look on your face can't be good news."

"I couldn't find an opening into the civilian area," admitted Spy dejectedly.

"What aboot the locked gates?" suggested Demoman. "Can't you pick the locks?" Spy shook his head.

"I don't know how the lock was made, but I can't pick it or cut it. It's indestructible."

"That bloody spook is able to get onto th'battlefield from 'is respawn point, though!" exclaimed Sniper, obviously frustrated with the situation.

"Calm down, Sniper," ordered Red. "We obviously need to re-think our strategy." Scout thought to himself, his stomach churning once more. After taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, he looked up at Soldier.

"I have an idea," he announced. All eyes were quickly on him. "I have a feelin' he's goin' to be on the battlefield. What if I let him grab me?" Red narrowed his eyes.

"Out of the question!" he roared. Scout quickly turned to him, returning the glare.

"He obviously wants me outside of the area! If he grabs me on the battlefield, he'll have to go to his exit to get me out of there, and we'll know how to get to his respawn point! Once he takes me to his exit, one of you guys can kill him to separate us!" Red clenched his fists tightly.

"It's way too dangerous! I won't allow it!"

"Your dad's right, Scout," added Engineer. "As admirable of a plan that is, we run the risk of losing you." Soldier sighed.

"For once, I have to side with the kid," he admitted. The rest of the men stared at him in shock. "Right now, that's our only option. In order for this to work and keep him safe, we need to keep Scout in our sights at all times. I'll stick by Scout as long as possible, but I want both Spies cloaked and covering us. Medic: you and Heavy alert the RED team of our plan and ask for their cooperation." Red was shaking—half in anger and half in fear. His angered expression masked the uneasiness welling up in him.

"I won't let you sacrifice my son's safety just to find an enemy respawn point!" he shouted. "We need to find another way!"

"Dad, it's okay!" yelled Scout. "I'll be fine!" Red's expression softened slightly as he looked at his son, who was giving him a determined look. Scout's body language, however, told the opposite story.

"Danny, are you sure? You're as pale as a ghost and you're shaking."

"I'm terrified, but I know that somethin' needs to be done, and this is the only thing I can think of." Red and the rest of the team looked at him in disbelief. "You guys have gone out of your way to help me with everythin'…now it's my turn to help you guys out. Please…let me do this." Red locked eyes with Scout, trying to read him. He noticed the fear in his son's eyes, but there was something else there that had been missing for a while: courage. Red gently took Scout's dog tags and looked at one in particular, reading it aloud.

"True courage is facing your fears head on," he uttered. He looked at his son once more. Though his own feelings of fear and worry didn't subside, he managed to smile slightly. "Very well, Danny. You've got my full support." Scout returned the same smile.

"Thanks, Dad." The entire team faced the gate to the battlements once they heard The Administrator's voice on the P.A. system.

"Mission begins in ten seconds!" she blared. The team gripped their weapons as both Spies checked their cloaking watches. As the seconds ticked down to the start of the battle, Scout gripped his Scattergun tightly, anxious to get back on the battlefield. Once the alarm sounded, they rushed onto the snow-covered battlefield. Heavy and Medic hugged one of the sides of the battlefield, making their way towards the RED base. Sniper quickly climbed up into his nest. Red and Spy cloaked themselves and hovered near Soldier and Scout as Demoman, Pyro and Engineer made their way to the control point for business as usual. Soldier shot some rockets towards the control point to make his sneaking less conspicuous. He glanced over his shoulder at Scout.

"Doing okay over there, Kid?" he asked. Scout nodded, switching his Scattergun out for his pistol and shooting at the RED Scout ahead.

"Peachy," he replied, trying to mask his nervousness. He jumped as he saw Soldier collapse into the snow with a head shot from RED's Sniper. Scout cursed to himself. He looked around, hoping to find Red and Spy's footprints in the snow, but instead he found more blood and their bodies lying in the snow from backstab wounds. He looked up toward his Sniper's nest to see that he was still there, but was then taken out by RED's Sniper. Scout's eyes widened in horror once he realized he was alone. "Dammit! Uh…oh crap! Do I meet them at the respawn, or do I go toward the control point where there's more people?"

"How about staying right where you are?" he heard a deep voice reply from behind him. Scout yelped as he whipped himself around and began shooting into thin air in a panic. He looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the voice. He hoped that he could somehow stall until one of his teammates returned, but his hopes were quickly dashed as Bane removed his cloak and grabbed Scout from behind, holding a knife to his throat. "Drop your weapons…Now!" Scout did as he was told and dropped his pistol, Scattergun and baseball bat onto the ground. "Such a good little boy. Just so you know, I overheard your team's little plan. Not a good idea to strategize like that when you know the enemy could be within earshot of you. Now…" Bane put his knife away as he quickly picked up Scout, throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Scout struggled, starting to get second thoughts about his plan now that it was backfiring.

"Help!" he screamed. "Somebody help me!"

"It's useless, Boy," taunted Bane. "My Sniper companion is taking out everyone that could possibly save you." Scout struggled wildly, pounding on Bane's back, but to no avail. Bane quickly made his way toward the RED base, making sure to use rocks and buildings as cover to keep from getting shot by a stray bullet. What Bane hadn't banked on, though, was for RED's Scout to quickly confront him, his Shortstop in hand pointed point blank at his face. "Merde…"

"Shape shift your way out of this one, you rat!" hissed RED's Scout as he pulled the trigger, killing Bane instantly. As his dead body crumpled to the ground, BLU's Scout fell flat on his face in the snow. He sat up, calming himself down as he looked up at his savior. His RED counterpart grabbed his hand, pulling him up onto his feet. "You okay, man?"

"Y-Yeah, thanks," replied Scout, still shook up from the ordeal. "Why did you save me? I thought you hated me?"

"Eh, you ain't that bad. Besides, I can't bat your head in until that jerkwad is permanently dead." BLU's Scout smirked slightly, sensing that RED's Scout was trying to keep his tough exterior up to hide the fact that he wanted to help someone in need.

"Whatever your reason…thanks. I'm Danny, by the way." Danny extended his hand out to the other Scout, who looked at it, then shook it firmly.

"Casey. And it's no problem." Danny looked down on the ground briefly and spotted a piece of paper where Bane's body lay. He bent over to grab it, then stood up straight and looked it over. Casey looked at it, as well. "What's that?"

"It's a photograph of a painting, but the other half of the photograph looks like it was ripped away."

"Huh…I wonder why? It looks like there's some dude there where the rip is." As the two teens studied the photograph, Red, Spy and Soldier ran up to the two worriedly.

"Danny! Are you okay!" asked Red in a panic. Danny turned to his father and nodded.

"I'm fine. Bane grabbed me, but Casey killed him before he got too far." Red turned to his team's Scout, looking at him in utter disbelief. He then patted the young man on the shoulder and smiled.

"Thanks for saving my son, Boy. I owe you one."

"Okay, so that plan obviously backfired," complained Soldier. "I guess Medic and Heavy didn't get to your team's Sniper to relay the message." Casey cocked an eyebrow.

"Your Heavy and Medic had a message for us? Our Sniper was going on a killing spree up in his nest! They didn't stand a chance of getting far!" He paused, scratching his forehead. "Come to think of it, he kept shooting at our team, too, but all of his shots missed."

"The respawn barrier doesn't allow for friendly fire during battles, for some odd reason," explained Spy. "Trust me; there were times I wanted to stab our Pyro for nearly setting me on fire with his Spy Checks, but it didn't work."

"But why was our Sniper shooting at the REDs?" questioned Red. "Unless…"

"Do you think he's in cahoots with Bane?" suggested Danny. Red thought hard on his son's statement.

"It's possible. I know the two of us never got along at all when we did interact with each other, but he's always been the solitary-type. He rarely talks to anyone other than his parents or what I'm assuming is his lady friend."

"I say we beat the information out of him!" announced Soldier. "It seems he'll be the one to answer a lot of our questions!" Danny looked down at the ground and saw that Bane's body had disappeared. He suddenly remembered the direction he was being taken in.

"Casey, could you inspect the RED base for anything odd when you get a chance?" he requested. "Bane was taking me in the direction of your base, and we're trying to find his respawn point." Casey nodded, grinning cockily.

"No prob! Glad that nobody sees me as useless now!"

"In the meantime, we have a battle we need to continue!" announced Soldier. "Red! Spy! Take Scout back to the base and stay with him! I don't want a repeat of today!" Red and Spy nodded as they guided Danny back to the base. Danny looked at the picture that was in his hands, then handed it to Red.

"Dad, when we get back, take a look at this," he said. Red took it and glanced at it, then at his son.

"I thought you weren't speaking to me?" he asked. The teen frowned.

"I, uh…I…was out of line…I'm sorry." Red patted him on the shoulder.

"It's okay. I'm sorry I got you into this mess with whatever I did. Believe me; I'm still trying to figure out what I did to upset our boss so much. I'm going to have a word with Soldier after today's battle to see if he can spark something in my memory as to who this woman is. Once I can put her voice to a face, I'll know exactly what I did." Danny nodded slowly, remaining silent the rest of the way back to the base.


	17. Role Reversal

_Author's Note: Just to give you guys a heads up, the next few updates may be later than expected. I have a group project and a paper that's due in two weeks that I need to focus on. The chapters have already been written, so it's mostly a matter of if I have the time to update or not on the scheduled update date. Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

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Chapter 17 - Role Reversal

That evening, Red was sitting in the meeting room with Engineer, waiting for Soldier to return with some kind of image of The Administrator. Laid out in front of the two men was the picture the Scouts found on the battlefield. Engineer glanced over at Red, whose eyes began to glaze over from zoning out. Engineer shook the man's shoulder gently.

"Hey, Red," he called out softly. "Wake up." Red blinked a few times, looking at Engineer.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked, confused. Engineer sighed.

"You look like you need sleep. Have you slept at all the past few nights?" Red frowned.

"Not really. I've been too worried about Danny to get any sleep." He glanced down at the picture again, clenching his fists in his lap. "I keep having horrible thoughts of Bane coming in the middle of the night for him."

"Scout's got Spy and Sniper with him around the clock, so there's no need to fret."

"But what if one of them is him in disguise?"

"I can guarantee you that that's not the case." Red cocked an eyebrow as Engineer grinned. "I've Spy Checked both of them. They're authentic." Red nodded slightly, then looked back down at the half of the photograph that was in front of him. Engineer could see the look of confusion in Red's eyes, then glanced at the photograph. "The man in the bed is Zephaniah Mann. Redmond and Blutarch Mann are the ones squabbling on either side of him. The large gentleman on the left is Barnabas Hale, Saxton Hale's ancestor."

"Who's the woman? She looks somewhat familiar…"

"Elizabeth, Zephaniah's maid servant. In his last will and testament, according to my grandfather, she was given his estate, deeds, tobacco plantation and the remainder of his fortune. Barnabas Hale got what is known today as Mann Company, and, well…you know what the Mann brothers got." Red simply nodded, not taking his eyes off of the woman. His train of thought was interrupted when Soldier noisily entered the room with a ream of film.

"Okay, I got what I was looking for!" he bellowed. "Let's see if this jogs your memory. Brace yourself. I warned you before that she ain't pretty." As Soldier began setting up the footage, Red grabbed a pen off of the table and played with it in his hands, mostly to keep himself occupied until the movie began. Soldier scanned through the negatives until he found a decent still of The Administrator and put it into the projector, keeping it on pause. Red looked up at the image on the screen and his eyes widened, his skin going pale. Engineer quickly frowned.

"Red, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly. Red's hands continued to play with the pen in his hand absently as he quickly jogged his memory. He suddenly buried his face into his arms onto the table, swearing profusely in French. "Red!"

"Dammit, it's _HER!_" he yelled. "It's Helen! Why didn't I realize it sooner!"

"Her who! I want details!" demanded Soldier. Red sat up and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

"Before I joined Reliable Excavation Demolition, I used to work for her at TF Industries as her personal spy. We even dated for a while. I did everything for her, including _her!_" Engineer's eyebrows shot up over his goggles.

"You _slept_ with her!"

"That was before I met Danny's mother! When I finally met her, I immediately broke it off with Helen and quit being her Spy. I did some freelance espionage for different governments that paid me the most. A few years ago, I got a letter from Redmond Mann to join RED, and with the salary that was promised me, I was sold. I didn't realize until now what her connection to the company was!" As he clenched his fists together, he forgot he had the pen in his hand and stabbed it into his left palm. He let out a cry of pain as he stood up and gripped his now bleeding hand, knocking his chair over in the process. "Fuck dammit!"

"Red!" yelped Engineer as he stood up to tend to Red. Engineer inspected the wound. He pulled out a clean rag from his pocket and pressed it against the wound. "It's not too deep, but you'll definitely need to see Medic about it. C'mon, I'll take you." Soldier crossed his arms.

"One more thing before you go," he interrupted. Red looked at Soldier while Engineer gave him a warning glare. Soldier cleared his throat. "While you were, uh…with her, were you aware of her power over both RED and BLU?" Red shook his head.

"As close as I was to her, she never revealed information about her connection with RED and BLU; just with TF Industries," he explained. Soldier nodded, accepting his answer.

"Very well. You two are dismissed!" The two nodded, then rushed out. As Engineer guided Red through the base to the infirmary, he noticed the distraught look on Red's paling face. In the light, he could clearly see the dark circles forming under the man's eyes. Engineer frowned, then grinned slightly.

"Hey, look on the bright side: your girlfriend is ten times hotter," he stated. Red didn't seem to be paying attention to the Texan, causing Engineer's grin to fade quickly. "Y'know, you should try to get some sleep. I think you'll feel better once you do. Maybe Medic can give you some medicine to let you sleep through the night."

The two arrived at the infirmary, seeing a sign on the slightly open door that read "Back in 15 minutes". Engineer figured that Medic would be back soon and wouldn't mind having the two of them wait inside. The two men entered the infirmary. Red glanced at a folder on Medic's desk once he recognized his son's name on it. Curiosity getting the better of him, he walked over to the desk and opened the folder. Engineer noticed what Red was doing and went into a small panic.

"Red, what the hell are you doing? That's confidential!" he scolded.

"It's Danny's medical file," he stated softly, practically ignoring Engineer. Realizing he wasn't going to get through to Red, Engineer gave up. As Red read through the file, his eyes widened slightly. "He has a scar on his back?"

"Yeah, a long one," explained Engineer. "Said he got it a week before joining BLU."

"Did he say how he got it?" Engineer suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"I think you might want to talk to him about that…" Red was suddenly afraid of the answer. He brought his uninjured hand up to his forehead and closed his eyes, feeling slightly dizzy. Engineer quickly caught onto Red's condition and helped him over onto one of the beds, letting him lie down. Red kept his hand over his eyes, trying to block out the overhead lights. Engineer gave him a concerned look. "You okay, Red?"

"Yeah, just getting a headache."

Medic returned to the infirmary a few minutes later and quickly made his way over. After inspecting Red's hand, he walked over to his cabinet of medical supplies, walked over to the sink, then made his way back with a glass of water. He handed it to Red, who sat up to take the glass.

"You look dehydrated, Herr Red," commented Medic. "Drink zhat vhile I get my supplies to fix your hand." Red tiredly nodded, realizing that he actually was thirsty. He drank the glass of water and set the empty glass down on the table next to the bed. His eyelids suddenly felt very heavy and he found it incredibly hard to stay awake. He laid back down in bed, and as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was sound asleep. Medic returned and took Red's injured hand, carefully removing the glove. As he began to clean the wound, he would occasionally glance at Red's sleeping form. "I'm amazed at how quickly zhat vorked."

"What did you give him, Doc?" asked Engineer.

"A sleeping pill. He vill be avake in eight hours. I felt he needed zhe sleep."

"Glad I'm not the only one who noticed. Poor guy." Medic started to stitch up Red's hand. He stopped for a moment to glance at Engineer.

"How is zhe control device coming along?"

"Haven't had a chance to gut the original one yet. As soon as the battle was done, Soldier called Red and I into the meeting room to jog Red's memory of what he did to The Administrator."

"Was it successful?" Engineer cringed.

"Unfortunately, yeah. Kind of disturbing, actually. Seems to me like a case of revenge, but why would she hold a near nineteen-year grudge against him?" Medic finished stitching Red's hand and bandaged it. He rested the hand next to Red's side. As he gathered up his supplies, he heard the infirmary door open. He and Engineer turned to it and saw Scout, Sniper and Spy walk in. "Can I help you three?"

"I, uh…Solly said that Dad would be in here," confessed Scout, a concerned look on his face.

"Your father's fine," assured Engineer. "He accidentally stabbed his hand with a pen in a fit of anger."

"What did he get so mad about?" questioned Spy. "Did he figure out what he did to the Administrator." Engineer crossed his arms.

"He did, but I'll let him talk when he's ready. He was pretty shook up." Scout frowned deeply. Engineer suddenly blinked. "Wait a minute. You mean Solly didn't tell you guys what happened?"

"No," answered Sniper. "Just that we'd find Red in 'ere." Engineer's jaw dropped.

"Well I'll be damned. Solly actually kept his mouth shut for once."

Scout walked over to his father's side and frowned worriedly. After staring for a few moments, he carefully took off Red's mask, taking care to not wake him up. He set it on the table next to the empty glass and made his way around to the other side of the bed. He took off Red's other glove and tossed it over onto the table. He walked to the foot of the bed and took off his shoes, setting them on the floor next to the bed. He took the folded up blanket from the foot of the bed and unfolded it. He draped it over Red's body up to his shoulders. Scout glanced over at his teammates, who had been watching him the whole time. He suddenly felt a bit awkward.

"What?" he asked defensively. "What are you guys staring at?" Medic smiled slightly, which crept Scout out a bit since Medic rarely smiled except on the battlefield when either charging or killing someone. He walked over to Scout and placed a hand on his head. Scout flinched at the touch, but blinked in confusion when Medic rubbed his head gently, slightly messing up his headset.

"You've changed quite a bit zhis past veek from your usual behavior, Herr Scout," noted Medic. "As Heavy vould say, you are 'credit to team'." Scout smiled faintly, feeling embarrassed. Sniper cocked an eyebrow.

"I thought you felt 'e was a, and I quote, 'careless burden'?" he questioned. In one swift motion, Medic punched Sniper in the stomach, causing the Australian to cough and double over, holding his stomach.

"Spy check!" proclaimed Medic. Scout rushed to Sniper's side to check and see if he was okay. Spy took a step back away from Medic, hoping to avoid the same fate as he put his hands up defensively. Medic smiled excitedly, turning to look at Engineer, who merely facepalmed at Medic's antics.

"Doc," he started, "you should let Pyro and I do the Spy Checkin' around here." Medic's smile quickly disappeared.

"Vhat? I zhought zhat you could get avay vith hitting zhomeone if you shouted 'Spy Check'! Isn't zhat vhat you've been doing zhis whole time?"

"To quote The Administrator: 'you fail'," stated Spy.

"Oi, that smarts," groaned Sniper, finally able to stand up straight.

"You okay, Snipes?" asked Scout worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Scout rubbed the back of his neck, aiming to change the subject.

"Listen, um…if it's okay with you guys, I'd like to stay in here tonight with Dad. I'm kinda worried about him." Spy and Sniper looked at each other, then back at Scout and nodded.

"But of course," said Spy. "We'll stay in here with you two, if Medic has no objections to the notion."

"Nein," replied Medic. "I vill be in my quarters. Find me if zhere is an emergency."

"We'll be sure to do that. Good-night, Doctor." Medic bowed his head to his teammates and exited the infirmary. Engineer checked the clock on the wall, which read as 10 PM. He turned to his teammates.

"I'm going to go make sense of the control mechanism RED's Engineer and I discovered this morning and see if I can make one that we can use to control the respawn barrier," he announced. "I'll come back when I'm finished, whenever that is."

"Is the respawn barrier up right now?" asked Sniper. Engineer shook his head.

"Nah, it's off right now. We checked it at the end of the battle, and with the control mechanism off, it's back to its default settings, which means it won't be up again until 9 AM tomorrow morning."

"That explains why Medic didn't just use his Medigun to heal Dad's hand," deduced Scout.

"Scout," began Sniper, "You're getting smarter and smarter by the day and it's creeping me out." Scout gave him a look.

"Do you want to be Spy Checked again?" Sniper pursed his lips. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Behave, Scout," warned Engineer. "You don't want to repeat the behavior that landed you here in the first place." Scout grumbled.

"How come you always get away with it, Engie?" he whined. Engineer grinned.

"Because I'm awesome." Scout, Spy and Sniper just stared at him, all three simultaneously cocking an eyebrow. "And that's my cue to leave. I'll catch you guys later if you're still awake." Before another word could be said, Engineer exited the infirmary.

Scout pulled up a chair next to his father's bed and sat down. He watched Red's chest rise and fall gently and peacefully as the man slept. Scout frowned, feeling guilty for the state his father was in. With the exception of the previous night, Red had spent every night since surrendering to BLU awake and watching over Scout and it had finally caught up with him. It was finally Scout's turn to take care of his father.

Red turned over onto his side in his sleep, facing Scout. The man snored lightly and brought his hands up toward his pillow, his injured one relaxing over his other one that rested on his pillow. Scout gently took his father's injured hand into both of his and smiled ever so slightly.

Scout yawned tiredly, feeling sleepy himself. He took off his hat and headset, leaned forward and rested his upper body on the bed, using his arms as a pillow. He closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep himself, his hand still clutching his father's. Sniper and Spy took the blanket off of the second bed and placed it gently over Scout together, not having the heart to separate the son from his father.


	18. Allies and Enemies

_Author's Note: So, remember how I mentioned last update that some updates would be late because of school stuffs? Yeah...this one was late because I had the stomach flu._

_Thanks again for the great reviews! And to Iz: THOSE are the kinds of reviews I'm looking for; the ones that critique my writing! Thank you for pointing that out! That one line of Engineer's was intentional, though, mostly to lighten the mood slightly._

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Chapter 18 - Allies and Enemies

RED's Scout snuck away from the rest of the team after dinner that night and went outside into the courtyard area of the base. Keeping himself warm with his sweatshirt and scarf, he began to search along the fence for any kind of opening or sign of another respawn point. He pondered to himself why he was even helping out in the first place; he didn't like anybody from the BLU team, and he didn't like how much Red constantly belittled him. Then again, everyone on his team did. Maybe he just wanted some recognition and respect? Maybe he wanted to prove his teammates and enemies wrong? To prove to them that he's not a self-centered, annoying brat?

He froze when he heard footsteps in the snow behind him. He whipped out his pistol and whirled himself around, pointing the gun at the face of the person behind him. He relaxed and lowered it when he recognized who it was.

"Don't scare me like that, Demo!" he hissed. Demoman crossed his arms.

"Sorry, Laddie," he apologized. "Whatcha doin' out here in the cold?" Scout rubbed the back of his neck.

"Just, uh…looking for that other Spy's respawn point." Demoman smirked slightly.

"I saw what ye did on the battlefield today with savin' the BLU Scout. Great job, Scoot!" Scout blinked. Was he really getting praise from a teammate? Demoman patted his shoulder, then leaned downward so he was eye level with Scout and grinned, giving him a thumbs-up. "I'll help ye out. Three eyes are better than two, eh?" Scout grinned.

"You can say that again." Demoman opened his mouth, but Scout held his hand up. "Don't." The Scotsman closed it.

The two continued their search in silence, making sure they didn't alert the rest of the team. Scout felt like he wasn't looking well enough with how cold he was and made sure to double check every nook and cranny. As quiet as they needed to be, he hated working in total silence. He racked his brain for topics he could bring up with Demoman, but it was the Scotsman who broke the silence.

"Find anythin' yet, Laddie?" he asked.

"So far, nothi…wait a minute…"

"What? Ye find somethin'?" Scout motioned for Demoman to hurry over to where he was standing by an opening in the wooden fence, to which the older man complied. The two peeked through the opening to see a lightly-treaded trail through the snow veering to their left, but some rock formations and trees blocked the rest of their sight. "Ye see the footprints?"

"Yeah, but they look kind of old and only go one way: towards our base." Demoman stroked his beard.

"I guess when ye shot 'is brains out, 'e must've respawned at 'is point and stayed there to avoid detection." Scout chuckled, grinning like a child on Christmas day.

"Hee hee, I enjoyed that." Scout's grin soon turned into a frown when he saw troubled look form on his teammate's face. Demoman placed his hand on Scout's shoulder and leaned in, making sure to speak quietly.

"I don't think we should tell Sniper aboot this. I saw 'im shootin' at everyone today, including our own team. I don't think we can trust 'im." Scout nodded slowly.

"I noticed it, too. Maybe he's working with that purple Spy?" Demoman blinked.

"Purple?"

"Yeah! I mean, when you mix red and blue together, you get purple! And he's disguised himself as both, so…" Demoman laughed. Scout scowled. "What! You laughin' at my logic, Chucklenuts!"

"Nah, nah, it's not that. That jus' sounded like somethin' Jane would say, that's all."

"Is Jane your girlfriend or wife or somethin'?" Demoman laughed harder, hugging his sides.

"Heck no! Jane is BLU's Soldier!" Scout's face fell and he began stuttering.

"Wh-what the..who…who the hell names their son Jane!" Demoman immediately stopped laughing and lifted Scout up by the collar of his shirt, glaring at him with his single eye.

"Watch it, Laddie. Tha's my buddy you're talkin' aboot." Scout blinked.

"I thought you two hated each other?" Demoman slowly lowered Scout and let go of him once the boy's feet touched the ground.

"We don't…necessarily 'ate each other, now tha' we know we were set up for tha' whole 'War' thing. Jus'…we've got some issues we need to work out."

"Then talk to him, man! You ain't gonna fix nothin' if you don't talk!" Demoman sighed.

"Jus' hasn't been a good time with everythin' goin' on. 'e's got 'is own team to worry aboot, and…" Before Demoman could continue, Scout punched the man in the face, snapping the Scotsman's head to the side. Demoman glared at the boy. "What the bloody crap was that for!"

"To get you to stop makin' excuses, you pansy! Man up and talk to him, like, pronto! If you don't, I'm takin' away your supply of piss-smellin' Scrumpy!" Demoman's eye widened.

"Ye wouldn't…!"

"Did I stutter?" Scout crossed his arms and gave Demoman a scolding look. Demoman stared back at him evenly, then sighed in defeat.

"All right, Laddie. I'll talk to 'im." Scout smirked, patting the Scotsman on the head.

"Good boy." The two quickly turned in the direction of new footsteps belonging to their Sniper walking up to them with a speculative look on his face.

"What are you boyos doin' out here so late?" he interrogated. Demoman froze, unable to think of an excuse to throw Sniper off. Scout, however, immediately answered without losing his cool.

"We were tossin' my ball back and forth, and Chucklenuts here threw it too far and it went over the fence!" ranted Scout, hitting Demoman in the shoulder. Demoman shot him a glare.

"'ow was I supposed to know that a strong gust o' wind could send tha' bloody thing farther!"

"You shoot projectile explosives on the battlefield, you idiot! You should know this stuff!"

"When did you start usin' big words, you runt!"

"Since I started feelin' like usin' 'em, you drunk!"

"I think you're that bloody Spy!" Demoman and Scout began wrestling with each other, completely ignoring Sniper. Sniper pulled the two apart.

"Enough! Don't make me send Soldier out here!" he scolded. Demoman and Scout turned their heads away from each other simultaneously with a huff. Sniper crossed his arms. "Now Scout: you should forget about your ball. You're not allowed outside of the confines of the base. And Demo: apologize to Scout for losing the kid's ball." Demoman sighed, putting a hand on Scout's head.

"Sorry, Laddie," he apologized. Scout crossed his arms.

"You owe me a new ball," noted the Bostonian. Sniper shot the boy a glare.

"Scout…" he said with a threatening tone. Scout huffed again.

"Fine…apology accepted." Once Sniper was satisfied that the two wouldn't try to kill each other, he turned around and walked back inside just as annoyed as when he came out. Demoman and Scout glanced at each other, then grinned and gave each other a thumbs-up. "Great acting there, Demo."

"Not so bad yerself there, Scoot," complimented Demoman. "Way to think on yer toes."

"I'm a Scout; it's my job. Now, about that respawn point…" Demoman shook his head.

"Not tonight. I'll talk to BLU's Soldier tomorrow on the battlefield and tell 'im what we found. We'll figure out our next plan of action then. Until then, it's business as usual." Scout nodded.

"Got it. And Demo?" Demoman gave him a curious look. "Don't forget to talk to him about your issues." The Scotsman nodded.

"Will do."

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Scout couldn't sleep. Curiosity was getting the better of him. He had to know where those footprints outside led to. When he knew the entire base was asleep, he quietly slipped on his clothes from earlier. He looked out the window and saw that it was snowing again. Cursing to himself, he hastily put on another layer of clothing.

He quietly opened his bedroom door and looked both ways down the dark hallway. Once he knew the coast was clear, he snuck down the hall and through the RED base to the entrance. Bracing himself for the inevitable blast of frigid air, he opened the door leading outside and cringed, feeling the air go through his three layers of clothing. He made his way through the ever increasing amount of snow on the ground to the hole in the fence. He scowled once he saw that the footprints from earlier were completely gone.

"How convenient," he muttered sarcastically. "Even Mother Nature doesn't want us to find that Spy's respawn point." He gasped lightly when he heard the door beginning to open. He quickly dove behind a wooden crate to hide. The mix of falling snow and strong winds were able to mask his footprints.

When Scout poked his head around, he saw Sniper make his way to the hole in the fence. He saw the Australian look around cautiously before stepping through it. Once he knew he couldn't be seen by the sharp-shooter, Scout hopped onto the crate and climbed onto the rock formation that separated the base from the outside. He was surprised to see that the formation extended along the border of the path and was riddled with trees, giving him ample cover to stalk Sniper without being spotted.

Caught off-guard, someone grabbed him and clamped a hand over his mouth tightly from behind. Scout struggled wildly to get free.

"Keep it down, Laddie! It's me!" whispered his captor. Scout calmed down, then pulled away when the man loosened his grip. Scout glared at him.

"What the hell was that for, Demo!" hissed the boy. "Damn near gave me a heart attack! And what are you doin' out here!" Demoman crossed his arms.

"I should ask ye the same thing, Scoot," he scolded. "But now's not the time. Ye saw Sniper, right?" Scout nodded. "I heard 'im leaving 'is room, so I followed 'im. Didn't expect to se—no, wait, I did expect to see ye out here." Scout gave him a sheepish grin. "Let's keep it down and watch 'im."

As the two teammates stalked Sniper, they saw him walk down the snowy path around the rocky mount the two were on and up to a two-story wooden structure that was visible from RED's base. They lowered themselves further to the ground when they saw Bane poke his head out of the doorway, signaling for Sniper to hurry up. The two scooted backwards out of sight and back toward the base, a bit in shock. The two faced each other.

"I was right! He couldn't be trusted!" uttered Demoman, clenching his fists.

"But why would Sniper join up with that other Spy?" questioned Scout. "It just doesn't make any sense." Demoman grinned.

"I think a little team meetin' is in order after tomorrow's match." Scout looked up at the snow falling down heavily from the sky.

"You mean _if_ we have a match tomorrow. This snow is insane!" Demoman's grin grew wider

"Well, if there's no match tomorrow, that lets us have our meetin' sooner!" Scout smirked.

"I like the way you think."


	19. Realizations

_Author's note: Late hours at work all week equal a late update. Now that the craziness of things have calmed down, I can hopefully get back on a normal update schedule._

_Thanks once more for the awesome reviews! I want to address a few of the ones I've read:_

_Iz: I always enjoy reading your reviews, especially since you offer excellent critiques, citing both what worked and what you felt didn't work. In my defense of last chapter, alcohol can help/cause a person (male or female) to speak up more about what they would normally hold back. While this is mostly a serious fanfic, I try to add humor when I feel it's appropriate, whether it's a very brief deviation from the main plot to lighten the mood a little (for a later cliffhanger) or to help advance the plot, like what happened in Chapter 18. Plus RED Scout is just hilarious period. Add a drunk Scotsman, and...I think you get the picture XD Again, thank you!_

_Anonymous: I always know you're the same person based on your reactions (and the fact that you keep reading during class XD). Your reviews always bring a smile to my face and a giggle to my day. It helps take the stress off of everything that I'm involved in with life, so thank you!_

_Keep 'em coming! You guys are awesome! We now return you to your regularly scheduled fanfic._

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Chapter 19 - Realizations

Red opened his eyes slightly, his vision a bit blurry. After blinking a few times, he was able to clear his vision and keep his eyes open. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and stretched. He stopped when he remembered that his hand pulled out of something warm. He looked down and saw Scout sleeping soundly at his bedside. He smiled gently and ran his fingers through his son's hair. He pulled his hand away once he felt Scout slowly stir and wake up. The boy sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, the blanket around his petite frame falling off behind him. Scout looked up at his father.

"Morning, Dad," he said groggily, still not quite awake. "How are you feeling?"

"Surprisingly refreshed," admitted Red. "I guess I really needed the sleep." Scout frowned.

"How's your hand?" Red looked at his bandaged hand. He tried making a fist, but stopped once he started to feel his stitches pulling.

"It's been better, but it looks like Medic patched me up well."

"How did you hurt it? What happened?" Red frowned deeply, remembering the events from the day before. He looked up at Sniper and Spy, who were also waking up upon hearing the two men talk. Red cleared his throat.

"Gentlemen," he began, "I apologize for asking this of you so soon after waking up, but could you please stand guard outside of the infirmary? I need to have a private conversation with my son about what transpired yesterday." Sniper and Spy nodded, getting out of bed.

"Sure thing," answered Sniper. "'ey, Spy. I'll stand guard if you can get us some of your famous coffee." Spy smirked.

"But of course," replied Spy. "I'll return in about fifteen minutes." The two men then exited the infirmary, shutting the door behind them. Scout grew nervous of his father's answer considering he needed it to be a private conversation.

"Now Danny, before I begin, I need you to understand that what I'm about to tell you happened before I met your mother," pleaded Red, trying to keep his composure. Scout nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off of Red's. Red took a deep breath and sighed. "Helen, whom you know as The Administrator, was my boss when I was her personal Spy for TF Industries. We were also…romantically involved, if you will." Scout made a face.

"You _slept_ with that old hag!" he cried out. Red quickly shushed him.

"Not so loud! And remember that this was back in my twenties! She's only ten years older than I am!"

"Still, ew. Anyway, keep going." Red cleared his throat.

"Anyway, when I met your mother on a business trip to Boston, I fell madly in love with her. I knew that she was the one I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. I immediately quit being a spy for Helen and broke off all ties with her. I didn't realize until after I left her just how dangerous of a woman she was. She had sent assassin after assassin to try and kill me." Scout's eyes widened.

"All because you dumped her?"

"That and she was afraid I would tell the outside world the inner workings of TF Industries. I had to confront her when she sent an assassin after your mother while she was pregnant with you." Scout's hands began to shake lightly. Red noticed this and took his son's left hand into both of his, squeezing gently with his good hand. "I made a deal with her; if I agreed to not speak about TF Industries, she would assure your mother's safety. So she'd be aware of all of my actions and whom I associated with, she'd have one of her other spies keep tabs on me wherever I went. That's why I wasn't around while you were growing up and why I didn't want you to know about me."

"It was all to keep Mom and I safe?" Red nodded.

"As little as she knew about you two, the better. I didn't want you to get mixed up in this mess until I was able to find a way to silence her forever."

"Why didn't you just kill her then?"

"Because there was no guarantee for success. I want to make one-hundred-and-ten percent sure that I can eliminate her without severe repercussions." Scout nodded slowly, swallowing hard.

"And you didn't see her for over eighteen years and didn't know what she looked or sounded like as she got older?" Red nodded once more.

"And once I got a good look at her face on a ream of film that Soldier had stashed away, I was able to recognize that it was her. Out of a mix of anger, frustration and fatigue, I inadvertently stabbed my hand with a pen. The rest, you know." Scout lowered his head, squeezing Red's good hand in a troubled manner. Red noticed Scout clenching his free hand in a fist tightly and his body began to tremble lightly. "Danny, what's wrong?"

"Now I get it…it all makes sense…"

"What does?" Scout looked up at Red, his eyes watering up slightly.

"How I joined BLU. I…I didn't want to tell you, but…I think you deserve to know." Red frowned deeply. Scout sighed shakily as he began his story.

* * *

_Danny was running home in the rain from the park. He had ended t-ball practice with the children early because of the weather. He cancelled early mostly because he didn't want the kids to get sick, but partially because he was stupid enough to leave his umbrella at home. To get home quicker, he decided to take a shorter route between buildings and through alleyways._

_About halfway through his trek home, a man grabbed him and pulled him into a dark alleyway, slamming his back against a chain-link fence. A piece of metal from a broken link was sticking out from the fence and lodged itself into Danny's back, causing him to cry out in pain. The man faced him and held both of his arms tightly. The man suddenly forced Danny to the side, causing the metal from the fence to cut diagonally upward across his back as he fell to the ground, leaving a deep gash and causing his torn baseball shirt to be soaked with his blood._

_Danny looked up in pain and horror as the man pulled out a knife, aiming to bring it down onto the boy. With a rush of adrenaline, Danny whipped out his metal baseball bat and deflected the knife, batting it away. He swung the bat and hit the man square in the jaw hard enough to knock him onto his back. Danny tackled the man and began to beat him more with the bat as the man struggled. The man's blood began to splatter everywhere, mixing with Danny's. With one final, hard swing, Danny brought the aluminum bat onto the man's skull as hard as he could, denting the bat and killing the man._

_Danny sat there, giving the dead man a horrified stare at what he had just done, causing the boy to begin to hyperventilate. What had he just done? Did he really just kill a man? What was he going to tell the police? What was he going to tell his mother? How would she react? _

_Before he could process any of these questions in his head, a woman in her mid-fifties clad in dark purple approached the scene, surprisingly calm. Danny looked up at her and grew even more pale. The woman crossed her arms, assessing what had happened._

"_I-I-I-It's not what you th-think! H-he was t-t-trying to k-kill me! I-I-I-I didn't m-mean to kill him! I-I panicked!" squeaked Danny, tears beginning to pour down his cheeks. The woman only nodded._

"_I witnessed the whole thing," she admitted, her deep voice sounding like that of a chain smoker. "I know you killed out of self-defense. However…" She glanced at the body. "…given the gruesome manner in which you killed him, this will not look good for you in a court of law and they may throw out the self-defense plea." Danny felt his heart sink deeply as a lump got caught in his throat._

"_Wh-what am I going to do?" he managed to say._

"_I can cut you a deal." Danny looked up at her hopefully. "If you agree to become a mercenary for my company, Builders League United, on a two-year contract, I can make sure this incident doesn't go on your record. You won't even need to see the police about this. Trust me: I can make this disappear. I just need you to agree to this deal and it will all go away." Danny looked down at his shaking, bloodied hands. He knew about the war between RED and BLU going on through the newspaper and television, but he had never thought he'd be getting involved in it. He knew that he would have to kill more, but he knew those deaths would not be permanent with TF Industries' respawn barrier around the battle arenas. Since he had spilled his first blood, he figured he would be okay to spill more if it didn't result in permanent deaths. He looked up at the woman and nodded._

"…_I'll do it."_

_

* * *

_

Red stared at a shaking Scout in disbelief. His son had actually killed a man? Granted, it was out of self-defense, and with how badly he beat the man, he knew his son was terrified in his situation and let his survival instincts kick in, but it was hard to believe that the one he was trying to keep out of that lifestyle got sucked into it. He ceased his inner musings when he heard Scout take a deep, shaky breath and exhale.

"That man didn't put up too much of a fight," admitted Scout. Red looked down at the sheets covering his lap.

"That conniving bitch," he spat. "She set you up! She sent that man into a suicide mission to scare you enough to have you kill him!" Scout looked up at Red in horror. "That's why you got past the background checks—she _wanted_ you to fight against me, and she needed an excuse to get you to do that! She sacrificed a man and tried to sacrifice my son just to get revenge on me!" He gasped lightly when Scout hugged him tightly, burying his face into his father's shoulder. Red hugged back just as tightly, keeping Scout close.

"Dad, I'm so sorry," sobbed Scout.

"Shh, it's not your fault," cooed Red.

"I'm scared…What if she goes after Mom while we're here?" Red smoothed down Scout's hair.

"I know for a fact she won't do that. I can find another girlfriend – I don't want to, but I can. I can't replace my only son." Scout looked up at his father. Red smiled slightly, cupping Scout's face in his hands and wiping away his tears. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise." Scout sniffed, then smiled slightly in return.

"Same for you, Dad. I spent eighteen years not knowing that I had a father. Now that I've found you, I don't want to be without you again." His father smiled lovingly.

"I feel the same way, Kiddo. I've waited too long to be the father that you need me to be, and now that I have that opportunity, I never want to let it go." Red let go of his son and dug his hand into one of his inside coat pockets. He pulled out a small box and opened it up, revealing a beautiful 2-karat diamond ring. Scout's eyes widened in awe as his jaw fell agape at the beauty of the ring.

"Dad, this is…!"

"Danny, when this is all over, I plan on retiring as a Spy," announced Red. "And, with your permission…I want to ask your mother to marry me. I'm tired of being away from my family, and, to be frank, I'm getting tired of risking my neck for Helen every day and putting my family in danger because of it. I'm ready to settle down and enjoy a peaceful life with the woman I love and with the son I'm so proud of." Scout stared in admiration for a few moments before hugging his father tightly, though this time out of happiness.

"Yes, Dad!" he exclaimed. "You can marry Mom! Come home!" Red hugged Scout back just as tightly, resting his head on his son's shoulder. He closed his eyes and smiled, a stray tear lingering on his eyelashes.

"Home…that sounds wonderful."


	20. We All Fall Down

_Author's Note: I updated this way later than I wanted to. I got called into work to work the night shift on Wednesday and yesterday I had class. Better late than never, right?_

_Spring Break's here, so that means updates that are ON TIME!_

_This chapter's a bit short, but it helps set up for plot advancement in the immediate chapters following it.  
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_This part never gets old: Thanks again for the wonderful reviews!_

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Chapter 20 – We All Fall Down

Despite the bad weather overnight, the match for the day still continued, business as usual. RED's Scout feigned an ankle injury and used it as an excuse to stick with his team's Sniper, hoping it would disrupt any plans that his traitorous teammate may have made with Bane. In the meantime, Demoman kept trying to find a good opportunity to corner BLU's Soldier in order to arrange a teleconference with him after the battle.

BLU's Scout stuck close to his team's Engineer and Level 2 Sentry so he wasn't too much of a burden on the rest of the team. With their location on the wooden platform on the western part of the fighting arena, facing the capture point, it would allow them to keep a watchful eye on the battlefield and prevent any RED sneak attacks. As Engineer fiddled with his machine, Scout would occasionally bring him metal from a nearby reserve to upgrade it.

RED's Heavy was charging for the two with his Medic trailing behind. Heavy's minigun sent a barrage of bullets at the two while the sentry fired mercilessly at the RED duo. Neither side was letting up on their attacks. Scout, after seeing Engineer hide, decided to end the skirmish by hopping onto the sentry, then leaping off of it over RED's Heavy and point blanked Medic with his Scattergun, killing him. He whipped out his bat and swung at Heavy's skull. After a few hits, the large man was down for the count and awaiting respawn. Scout ran over to Engineer and gave him a weird look.

"You okay, Engie?" Scout asked curiously. Engineer poked his head out, then slowly emerged from his hiding place.

"Yeah. Thanks, Scout," he said.

"Why did you hide from him? You usually don't hide from your enemies!"

"That Heavy scares the bejeesus out of me!"

"How come?"

"Ever had your wrench shoved down your throat all the way down to the handle, had all of your fingers ripped off one-by-one and _not died_ right away?" Scout shuddered.

"Eugh! When did that happen?"

"Remember when The Administrator decided to try out what she called 'Arena Mode' at Sawmill?" Scout looked up at the sky to jog his memory.

"You mean the one where when you get killed, you don't respawn until the end of the round?"

"Yup. It was just him and me left. He took away all of my weapons. When he grabbed my wrench, well…you know the rest." Scout shuddered again.

"Yeah…if I get nightmares tonight, it's your fault." Engineer chuckled lightly.

"Just focus on the match and keep your guard up, Scout." That statement brought Scout back to reality. He looked down at the bat in his hands and gripped it tight enough to turn his knuckles white under his hand wraps.

He pursed his lips together as he remembered the conversation he had with his father earlier in the morning. As ecstatic as he was that his father was going to propose to his mother, it got him thinking about Spy and Sniper once more. His father had told him that when he saw his mother, he knew right away that she was the one for him. How did he know, though? What was it like? How would he himself know which of the two men he loved was the one for him? All of his thoughts were interrupted when Engineer shoved him out of the way and shot RED's Pyro point blank with his Frontier Justice.

"Scout! Snap out of it!" he cried out. Scout, having fallen to the ground, got up and brushed himself off.

_You burdensome brat!_

Scout shut his eyes tightly as Bane's voice echoed in his mind. He gave Engineer an apologetic look. Engineer's look softened a bit.

"You okay, Scout?" he enquired, concerned. Scout nodded slightly.

"Yeah, just…can I ask you something?" asked Scout. Engineer nodded slightly. "Your wife…how did you know that she was the one?" Engineer looked off into the distance, smiling. His sentry gun shot down RED's Soldier as he reminisced.

"Oh gosh…I'd have to say I knew when whenever I thought of her, I'd get this goofy grin on my face, even if she wasn't there. My heart would race and I'd be warm all over when I was with her. When we touched, I could feel the sparks of love between us. I haven't lost that even after being married to her for nearly nine years." Engineer turned to look at Scout. "Mushy stuff, I know. Why do you ask?" Scout scratched the back of his neck, feeling embarrassed. Engineer grinned slightly. "Still thinking about Spy and Sniper?" Scout looked at him, then nodded. Engineer smirked. "Any progress?"

"It's kind of hard to make progress when I'm feeling everything that you just said for both of them," confessed Scout. He sighed. "I feel like a man-whore."

"Is that you talking or is that Bane talking?" Scout froze. Engineer patted his teammate on the back as his sentry gun took out the Heavy-Medic combo again. "Scout, look at me. Whatever Bane put into your head about yourself isn't true. Trust me; if we saw any bad qualities in you, we'd let you know like we've done in the past. You're still young and you've got some growin' up to do, but you've made a lot of progress since joining BLU, especially in the past week, despite everything that's happened." Scout nodded slightly, managing a smile.

"Thanks, Engie." Scout looked up and spotted his team's Soldier talking to RED's Demoman. He smirked. "Well, look who's finally talkin' things out!" Engineer looked over at the two.

"Ever wanted to be a fly on the wall with those two?" questioned Engineer. His jaw dropped slightly when his team's Soldier swung his shovel against the side of the Scotsman's head, sending the man back to respawn. Scout grinned as Engineer cringed.

"After seeing that? Hell yeah!"

* * *

RED's Scout sat at the top of the staircase leading into his Sniper's nest. He would shoot and kill anyone that tried to get into the nest as they came up the stairs, allowing his teammate to attack the BLU team worry-free. The BLUs were finally catching on to Scout's strategy and fewer and fewer enemies would attempt to take out the Bostonian. This, in turn, made Scout extremely bored. He looked over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of Sniper's watch.

"It's getting' close to ceasefire, isn't it?" he questioned. Sniper glanced at his watch, then went back to aiming with his sniper rifle.

"Yeah," he replied, sounding relieved. "Just another minute." Scout scowled slightly.

"Is something wrong with the P.A. system? I haven't heard any announcements lately."

"Nobody's been able t'capture th'point, so it looks like a stalemate today. Th'Administrator announced th'two minute warning a while back. You must've not 'eard it." Scout sighed, resting his arms on his knees and staring down the stairs. Sniper looked over his shoulder. "'ow's your ankle?" Scout moved it around slowly.

"Better. I think I just twisted it." Sniper nodded slightly. Scout glanced over his shoulder at Sniper once more. "You look pretty tired. Were you up late last night?" Sniper shot him a suspicious glare.

"I could say th'same for you…" Scout stared right back at him with the same expression.

"What's your excuse?" asked Scout.

"Wasn't tired. Cleaned my weapons, walked around th'base t'try and wear myself down. You?"

"The storm was too noisy. I kept wakin' up at random times." The two continued to stare at each other, neither one making a single move as their stares turned into suspecting glares. Scout soon nodded slightly to lessen the tension in the nest and went back to watching the stairs as Sniper aimed to try and get one last shot in before the end of the match.

"You've Failed! Stalemate!" boomed The Administrator over the loud speakers. Scout grinned to himself, feeling confident that he foiled a possible plot by Bane and Sniper for the day. He stood up, making sure to balance on one leg to continue the charade of being injured. As he reached to put his hand on the wall for balance, he felt a foot roughly kick his back, sending him forward down the stairs. Everything seemed to flow in slow-motion as he plummeted down the stairs. Upon making impact and tumbling down, all he could feel was intense pain. Once he collided with the wall and hit his head roughly, his vision became incredibly wavy, fading into darkness. He could see the silhouette of Sniper running down the stairs toward him. Soon, his world went black. All he could hear were faint panicked yells coming from Sniper before losing consciousness.

"Scout? Scout! Oh bloody 'ell…**MEDIC!**"


	21. True Colors Revealed

_Author's Note: Sorry once again for the off-schedule update! You can blame Pokemon Black for that! Damn that game is addicting! That and I wanted to relax during the days off I had during Spring Break, so...here we are with a late update!_

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Chapter 21 - True Colors Revealed

The BLU team returned to the respawn room at the end of the match, where Spy and Red were waiting for them. Red quickly made his way to Scout and pulled him into a tight hug. Scout blinked, hugging back in confusion.

"Glad to see you, too, Dad," he said awkwardly. "Everything okay?"

"I got really worried when you didn't show up in respawn at all during the match," admitted Red. "I was afraid that something had happened to you."

"Oh believe me, he was quite vocal about it," sighed Spy, rubbing his temples in an effort to massage away a headache.

"Yeah, me coming back to respawn would require me to get killed on the field," explained Scout.

"But don't you get sent to respawn a lot?" questioned Red. Scout's eye twitched.

"Are you saying that I suck!" Red gulped.

"Well, no, I…"

"Are you saying that the rest of us do!" yelled Soldier. Red held his hands up defensively, shrinking back a bit as Soldier pulled out his beloved shovel and advanced on the RED member slowly.

"No! Not at all! I was just…" Sniper put a hand on Red's shoulder.

"Y'might wanna just shut your mouth before you make things worse," he suggested. Red simply nodded, not wanting to incur Soldier's wrath. Medic decided to intervene and put a firm hand on Soldier's shoulder.

"I believe zhat's enough, Herr Soldier," he stated. Soldier put his shovel away and walked off, grumbling.

"Ha ha! Medic to the rescue!" laughed Scout. Engineer scratched his head under his helmet.

"Speaking of Medics," he began, "did anyone else hear RED's Sniper crying out for his Medic after the match ended?"

"Da!" replied Heavy. "Tiny RED Sniper called for Medic for Tiny Baby Scout." Scout cocked an eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked. "I didn't see him at all during the match."

"He was hanging around in Sniper's nest shooting us down as we came up the stairs," explained Soldier, sounding irritated. Scout frowned worriedly.

"I wonder what happened…did anyone from our team get him at the end of the match?" The entire team shook their heads. Soldier scratched his chin.

"Looks like I'll have to ask Tavish about that tonight, too," he said aloud. Engineer quickly turned his head in Soldier's direction.

"You're going to be talking to RED's Demoman tonight?" he inquired. Soldier nodded.

"We've got some unfinished business we need to settle. Plus, we're going to see what our teams can do about this Bane person…Spy…thing."

"So, why did you hit him upside the head with your shovel hard enough to send him back to respawn?"

"So our 'lady friend' wouldn't be suspicious of us again."

"Speaking of our 'friends'," started Spy, "did any of you see Bane on the battlefield today?" Everyone shook their heads. "No? Then we still have a problem."

"What problem?" asked Heavy.

"The problem of still not knowing where Bane's respawn point is." Scout hugged himself.

"Yeah, and I ain't tryin' my plan from yesterday again," he stated. "Not with that sicko having an alleged ally on RED." Red began pacing slowly, thinking to himself. Scout frowned. "Dad, what's wrong?"

"Something's not right," answered Red. "If it's my team's Sniper that's assisting Bane, and he was trying to shoot everyone, including his own teammates, then why would he call out for Medic to help a teammate that he wanted dead in the first place?" Scout's eyes widened slightly.

"That's…a very intriguing notion." Engineer quickly turned his head in Scout's direction, caught off-guard by his eloquent speaking.

"Spy Check!" he cried, punching Scout in the gut as hard as he could. Scout let out a pained gasp and collapsed forward. Red quickly caught him before he hit the ground. Scout coughed a few times, wincing in pain. Engineer exhaled, relaxing once he knew Scout wasn't a Spy. "Sorry, man. You don't normally speak that way."

"It's…okay…" coughed Scout. Red helped Scout stand up slowly. "Just…wanted to test out…some new vocabulary…Damn, that hurt!"

"I'm sorry. I thought you were Bane."

"Coming back to the original topic of discussion," interjected Spy, "something needs to be done soon about Bane before we leave Viaduct at the end of the week. We can deal with RED's Sniper on our own time, but Bane is way too dangerous to leave running around freely for too long."

"I agree," said Soldier. "When I talk to Tavish tonight, we'll come up with an idea that we'll give to both teams tomorrow morning." Pyro looked at Soldier.

"Mmn mah mght hmm n frh?" the arsonist asked. Soldier thought about it for a moment, then looked at Red and Scout.

"Any objections from you two with Pyro setting that Spy on fire?" Scout lowered his eyes and shook his head. Red put an arm around Scout's shoulders and held him close, rubbing his shoulder gently. He kissed the top of Scout's head, rubbed his shoulder once more, then looked at Pyro with a serious look in his eyes.

"Let the bastard burn," he stated. Pyro held his flamethrower up in the air and let out a victorious cry through his mask.

RED's Scout felt like he was lying down on a cloud. That cloud soon turned into a semi-soft bed with a flat pillow underneath his head. He could feel the lights from above shining on him. He slowly opened his eyes, becoming aware of his surroundings. He shut his eyes quickly, the light causing his already throbbing head to throb more. He groaned in pain as he felt the rest of his body hurt. He heard footsteps approaching him.

"Ah, you're vaking up," commented Medic. "How do you feel?"

"Like a train ran over me three times," said Scout dryly. Scout felt his left arm was wrapped in a cast, but he could still move his right arm. He used that arm to carefully push himself up into a sitting position, feeling the pain in his ribs and back. Medic propped up some pillows for him so he could lean back comfortably. He handed the runner a bottle of water, knowing how thirsty the boy was. Scout took the bottle graciously and began chugging the water down.

"Zhat vas quite a fall you took. You have a concussion, some cracked ribs and a broken arm. Herr Sniper wasn't able to grab you in time before you fell." Scout looked around and saw Sniper sitting in a chair next to his bed, reading a magazine. He looked up and closed it, setting it on the table next to Scout's bed. He glanced at Medic.

"I'm pretty sure 'e's 'ungry, don't you think?" he asked. Medic nodded.

"Yes. I vill go have Pyro make him somezhing to eat. Alert me if somezhing goes vrong." Sniper nodded to him as the German began to exit the infirmary. When Medic left and closed the door behind him, Sniper stood up and walked to Scout's bedside.

"Doin' okay, Kid?" Scout glared at him slightly.

"Now that we're alone, there's somethin' I want to ask you," stated Scout. Sniper narrowed his eyes slightly but didn't say a word. "Why were you shootin' at our team yesterday?"

"You guys kept gettin' in my line of fire."

"Bull shit! You were shootin' at some of us when there wasn't a single BLU in sight! And, if I might add, you killed everyone around BLU's Scout instead of him and let him get grabbed by that Purple Spy dude without doing a damned thing to help him! You even kicked me down the stairs after ceasefire today!"

"You're pickin' the wrong time to go around accusin' your teammates of treason, Kid."

"It ain't accusin' when it's true! I even saw you last night going to one of the wooden buildings on the other side of the fence! You were meetin' up with that Purple Spy, weren't you!" Sniper locked his jaw, remaining silent as he narrowed his eyes more dangerously. Scout ignored Sniper's change in expression and continued. "There ain't no way you can lie your way out of this one! I saw you two! What the hell's goin' on!" Sniper ripped the pillows out from behind Scout, causing the boy to fall backwards on the bed, causing his injured head to bounce off of the mattress. Despite the semi-soft surface, the impact sent a wave of white-hot pain through his head, causing him to gasp in pain. Sniper gripped one of the pillows in his hands tightly as he glared at Scout.

"You know too much…" Scout's eyes widened as the pillow slammed down onto his face, suffocating him. Scout thrashed about and let out muffled screams, trying to get Sniper off of him and alert someone to the attack, but his efforts were in vain in his weakened, injured state. He began to panic as he felt the pain in his lungs that came with a lack of air.

Through sheer luck (in Scout's case), Demoman came into the infirmary to check on Scout. Upon seeing Sniper trying to suffocate Scout to death, the Scotsman darted at Sniper and roughly grabbed him, pulling him off of the boy. He threw the Australian across the room and pulled out one of his empty bottles of Scrumpy from his bag. Sniper pulled out his kukri, though a little too late as Demoman smashed the bottle against Sniper's temple, knocking him out cold and busting his head open. Demoman dropped the remains of the bottle onto the floor and rushed to Scout's side, who was coughing and gasping for air. He carefully lifted Scout's upper-body up and rubbed his back gently, trying to calm the boy down as he came to terms with not dying.

"You okay, Laddie?" he asked worriedly. Scout coughed and nodded, not quite ready to speak yet. Medic returned to the infirmary at that point and stopped dead in his tracks, nearly dropping the tray of food in his hands as he surveyed the scene.

"Mein Gott, vhat happened in here!" he screeched. Demoman glared at the unconscious, bleeding man on the ground.

"That bastard tried to kill Scoot!" he growled. "The bloke was suffocatin' the lad with a pillow!" Medic set the tray of food on the counter by the door and rushed over to Demoman and Scout, checking the boy's heartbeat and lungs.

"Iz zhis true!" Scout just nodded, coughing once more. "Are you okay, Herr Scout?"

"I'll be fine," answered Scout finally, his voice a little hoarse. "Snipes is workin' with that Purple Spy, though…that's why he tried to kill me when I confronted him about it…" Medic's eyes widened in shock. He took a few moments to let the news sink in before regaining his composure.

"I vill keep Sniper in here bound to a bed until Soldier can interrogate him. Scout is okay to leave zhe infirmary and rest in his own room. I vill be able to heal him tomorrow vith my Medigun vhen zhe match starts."

"I have a teleconference with BLU's Soldier in a few minutes, and I'll be bringing Scoot with me," announced Demoman. "After what just happened, I'm not lettin' 'im out o' me sight." Medic nodded slightly. He made his way over to Sniper and picked him up, laying him down on the spare bed. He pulled out the straps from the sides of the bed and strapped the unconscious Sniper to the bed. As Medic bound their traitorous teammate, Demoman carefully scooped Scout into his arms. Normally, Scout would protest being carried like a princess, but he was too exhausted and sore to do so. Instead, he rested his head against Demoman's shoulder and felt his eyelids grow heavy. As soon as his eyes shut, he was sound asleep.


	22. Plans

Chapter 22 - Plans

Demoman sat in the meeting room facing the screen, waiting for BLU's Soldier to arrive and begin the teleconference. When he had arrived in the room earlier with the sleeping Scout, he had forgotten to bring the boy any food or something comfortable to lay down on. Fortunately for him, Medic had thought about everything well ahead of time and brought Scout's dinner, a sleeping bag, a pillow and a blanket. Scout had woken up long enough to devour his dinner, then fell asleep in the corner of the room where Medic had set up everything.

Demoman turned to the sleeping boy, whom he had become friends with within the past two days. Despite their short time working together on the mission, Scout felt like the little brother he never had. After witnessing one of his own teammates trying to kill him, he became more protective of the teen. He worried that with all that he and Scout knew, possibly more of The Administrator's lackeys – or worse, Bane – would be coming to snuff out not only Scout, but himself, as well. And with everything he was planning to tell BLU's Soldier, he worried for his former friend's safety, too.

He remembered how the two had met at the projectile weapons expo in Kansas. After hitting things off well, they had done numerous things together during their leave time, whether it was fishing, visiting museums, or going to sporting events. A vile taste entered his mouth once the memory of their "war" surfaced once more. He hated himself for being deceived like that by his boss simply because he became friends with a BLU. Though he refused to admit it to anyone else (aside from Red and Scout), he had always regretted fighting against BLU's Soldier.

The man in his thoughts soon interrupted them by appearing on the screen for their teleconference. Demoman snapped out of his daze and faced the screen, nodding to Soldier.

"Evening, DeGroot," Soldier greeted. Soldier spotted the sleeping Scout in the background, then furrowed his eyebrows. "I thought this was going to be a private conversation!" Demoman quickly put a finger up to silence him.

"Shh!" he hissed. "Calm down. He's asleep. Our Sniper tried to kill 'im earlier, so I'm keepin' 'im close by." Soldier's eyes widened.

"Your Sniper tried to kill one of your teammates!" Demoman nodded.

"As we've suspected, our Sniper is in cahoots with that other Spy." Soldier's jaw dropped slightly. "Scoot and I spotted 'im last night meetin' up with – what was 'is name? Bane?" Soldier nodded. "Right, Bane. The two met up in one of the wooden buildings outside of my base. Scoot confronted Sniper aboot it, which caused Sniper to kick 'im down the stairs after ceasefire, then later try to smother 'im with a pillow." Soldier frowned deeply.

"This is getting more dangerous by the day," he sighed. "We've got to put an end to this Spy before we leave Viaduct at the end of the week. Now that we know why The Administrator is after Red, it might be easier for us to figure out what kind of connection your Sniper has with her." It was Demoman's turn to blink in confusion. "When he and Bane tried to abduct our Scout the other day, Scout said that your Sniper has some kind of connection with her and was only out to get Red. He'd kill anyone else that got in his way."

"Why is The Administrator after our Spy?" Soldier wrinkled his nose.

"Those two used to be an item. Apparently, Red left The Administrator for Scout's mother." Demoman stared with his mouth agape for a few moments before pulling out one of his bottles of Scrumpy from his bag and taking a few swigs of it. "Yeah, I kind of wanted to do just that when I got the news. I ended up throwing up a little in my throat instead."

"So, ye got any ideas on what we can do aboot Bane?" Soldier rubbed his chin.

"Well, with the weather we've been having, it'd be impossible for Bane to get reinforcements sent to him. And with his targets not going anywhere alone, he's outnumbered at least two to one."

"We've also possibly found 'is respawn point," added Demoman. Soldier grinned.

"Excellent! If we do a raid on it immediately after ceasefire is called, we should be able to catch him off-guard and capture him!" Demoman narrowed his eyes.

"I'd much rather kill the sick bastard." Soldier felt a lump in his throat form when hearing the "sick" adjective, remembering the night of Scout's rescue. He quickly regained his composure and faced Demoman once more.

"If we capture him, we can torture him for information about The Administrator and figure out ways to stop her and end this war. Then we can kill him. Though, if you want to kill him, you'll have to work that out with our Pyro. He has dibs for setting him on fire." Demoman stroked his beard in thought.

"Well, considerin' I already blew the bloke up once, Pyro can set him on fire." Demoman glanced back at Scout momentarily, then looked at Soldier once more. "Once this war is over and done with…think you're up for goin' fishin' again? Y'know…like old times?" Soldier blinked under his helmet.

"You mean you're not mad about our war that we had?"

"Oh I'm still mad aboot it! Just…not at you. I know now it wasn't yer fault." Soldier crossed his arms, scowling.

"Knowing that we were deceived like that by our boss made me sick to my stomach. I'm sorry I let myself be manipulated like that and ruin what we had."

"Me, too, Doe. Me, too."

"And I'm sorry that I'm going to have to break your record on our fishing trip." Demoman grinned wildly.

"We'll see aboot that!"

The two sat in the conference room chatting and joking around for hours on end, catching up on old times and planning their world fishing tour for when the war ended. Neither men realized that Scout had woken up briefly during their loud laughter. Scout smiled slightly at the two, then went back to sleep worry-free.

* * *

BLU's Scout sat up in bed in the middle of the night, waking up from a nightmare in a cold sweat. He calmed himself down once he reassured himself that his dream wasn't real and he was still in his room with Spy and Sniper sleeping soundly on the floor nearby. He wrapped his arms around his knees and hugged them to his chest, resting the side of his head against his knees while looking at his two sleeping comrades.

He frowned deeply at them, feeling terrible for still being indecisive on who he wanted to be with. Both men made him feel special and safe. He knew that he had little to worry about when he was with both of them which, in turn, made things even more difficult for him. When he was around both Spy and Sniper at the same time, it kept him from having any alone time with either man, which is what he needed to figure out who he wanted to be with. Scout groaned and buried his face into his knees, inwardly kicking himself for leading the two men he loved on the way he was.

He cursed to himself when he heard both men stirring awake and sitting up in their sleeping bags. He heard them climb out of them and walk over to the bed. He felt the bed give when the two men sat down next to him. He felt a hand on his head, running its fingers gently through his hair comfortingly.

"Scout?" asked Spy, the owner of the hand. "What's wrong?" Scout swallowed a lump down his throat.

"Sorry, guys," he apologized. "Just…a lot on my mind right now, that's all." Sniper frowned.

"Do y'want to talk about it?" he questioned. Scout closed his eyes, keeping his face buried in his knees. He knew what he wanted to ask them, but he was afraid of the outcome. Spy could feel Scout tense up, giving Sniper a worried look. Sniper nodded slightly and placed a hand on one of Scout's, squeezing gently. "Don't be afraid t'open up t'us. We'll listen t'whatever you have t'say." Scout took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, lifting his head up to look at Spy and Sniper.

"It's…actually about you two," admitted Scout. "I'm still having a hard time figuring out what I want, and…it's kind of hard when I'm around both of you at the same time." Sniper and Spy looked at each other once more, then at Scout. "It'd be easier if I could be around just one of you for a little while, and then the other, but…I don't know how you two would feel about it. I don't want to cause more bad blood between you two."

"Scout," began Spy, "Sniper and I are both adults. We can handle it. We're through acting like the immature children that we were before. Right, Sniper?" Sniper simply nodded. "If this is what you want to do, then we're okay with it."

"Why don't you stick with me tomorrow during th'match, then, after ceasefire, spend some time with Spy?" suggested Sniper. "I know I have some things I need t'catch up on tomorrow after th'match, and I'm sure Spy has some things he needs t'do during th'match since 'e can't join th'fight." Spy grinned.

"Yes, like keeping your father from having a hyperventilation-induced heart attack from worrying about you so much," he snickered. Scout groaned once more and buried his face into his knees again. Spy frowned. "Okay, not as funny as I thought it would be…"

"Not helping," whined Scout. Spy and Sniper frowned.

"Back to the original plan," said Sniper, breaking the awkward silence. "Will that work out for you tomorrow, Scout?" Scout lifted his head once more, looking at Sniper. The Australian grinned at him. "I'll even teach you how t'use my sniper rifle." Scout's face lit up, his worries melting away with the promise of playing with a new gun.

"Yeah, that'll work!" he replied excitedly. "I've wanted to learn how to use one for a while now!" Sniper chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Then it's settled. I'll teach you how to use a sniper rifle during th'match tomorrow." Spy smiled, feeling Scout relax finally. He leaned in closer to Scout's ear, speaking in a velvety voice.

"Et je vais vous apprendre à parler français," he spoke. Scout shivered slightly, smirking.

"Dude, whatever you said, it tickled," chuckled Scout. Spy patted him on the shoulder.

"I said that I will teach you French." Scout smiled.

"I'd like that. Okay, it's a deal, guys."

"Excellent. Now for our next deal, we're going to go back to sleep so we're awake enough for tomorrow's activities." Sniper and Scout nodded in agreement. Spy and Sniper stood up and made their way back to their respective sleeping bags, crawling into them and settling in for the rest of the night. Scout laid back in bed and pulled the covers up to his shoulders, staring at the ceiling. Sleep once again consumed him as he closed his eyes, thoughts of the next day's excitement racing through his mind.


	23. Oh Sniper, My Sniper?

_Author's Note: Surprise! Early update! Happy St. Patty's Day! :D _

_Thanks again for the wonderful reviews, guys!_

_Iz: Please don't thank me for proper French. Thanks Google Translate! That's what I had to use since I can't speak a lick of it. I can read it and understand about half of it because of my background in Spanish, but that's about it. If I screw up on it in the future, though, blame Google Translate! XD_

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Chapter 23 - Oh Sniper, My Sniper?

The BLU team waited impatiently in the respawn room the next morning for their Engineer to return from installing the control device on the respawn shield generator. The match was supposed to begin in two minutes and Engineer was supposed to have returned five minutes prior. Soldier's pacing back and forth and worried expression didn't put the rest of the team's minds at ease. Soldier ceased his pacing when Engineer finally returned, but his look of worry intensified when he saw the same expression on the Texan's.

"What the hell took you so long?" roared Soldier. "Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

"We've got a problem on our hands, fellas," announced Engineer. "A big one."

"Does the control device not work?" asked Red.

"That works perfectly. That's not the problem."

"Then what's the problem?" Engineer frowned.

"RED's Sniper was detained last night after trying to kill his team's Scout, as you guys are already aware from Soldier's meeting this morning. What I found out from their Engineer while installing the control device, though, is that someone cut his bindings overnight and he's nowhere to be found." Scout turned pale.

"Do you think Bane had anything to do with it?" he asked nervously. Engineer sighed.

"I'm afraid that might be the case. RED's Sniper is a lot easier to spot on the battlefield, though, since he can't cloak himself. Still keep your guard up, though." Soldier slammed his fist into his hand angrily.

"Dammit! That ruins our plan for after the match!" he hissed. "That bastard is always two steps ahead of us while pushing us another step back!"

"On zhe bright side," began Medic, "if, God forbid, somezhing should happen, ve now know vhere zhe ozher respawn point is and how to get zhere." Sniper put an arm around Scout's shoulders.

"I don't plan on 'avin' anythin' 'appen t'Scout," stated Sniper firmly. "Not on my watch."

"We should all keep an eye on each other out there," suggested Engineer. "We've got to plan for worst-case scenario. And Solly?" Soldier looked at him. "We can still go through with the plan if you'd like." Soldier's face brightened up. "We still heavily outnumber those two." Scout frowned.

"Guys, we shouldn't," he said. Everyone stared at him. "Bane's heard our plans in the past while we talked about them. He's probably heard about this one, too, and will be expecting us." Soldier's face fell.

"The kid has a point," he sighed. "We'll have to figure out something else. In the meantime, keep your wits about you on the battlefield today and watch each other's backs! I'm sure RED wants to get their hands on their Sniper again, so if you can, capture him and deliver him back to the REDs!"

"Mission begins in thirty seconds!" blared The Administrator on the speakers.

"Good luck out there, everyone," ordered Red.

The BLU team gripped their weapons tightly, anticipating the doors opening up for them to enter the uncertainty of the day's fray. As soon as the siren sounded, the team ran out of their base and into the battlements. Sniper and Scout quickly made their way to Sniper's nest, taking out RED's Soldier in the process. As soon as he felt the coast was clear, Sniper moved one of the crates in the nest to his usual sniping spot at the window, where another crate already resided. Sniper motioned for Scout to sit on the crate in the front while he took the one behind it. Once the two men were situated, Sniper brought his sniper rifle around in front of Scout and held it like he normally did.

"Are y'ready, Scout?" asked Sniper. Scout, hiding the blush on his face, quietly nodded. Sniper smiled slightly. "Okay, place your hands where mine are and hold the rifle firmly." Scout brought his hands up, and as he moved them to where Sniper's were, the Australian moved his hands to allow Scout to place them directly onto the gun. He placed his own hands over the boy's to help steady the gun that the Bostonian wasn't used to handling. "Very nice. Now, take aim through th'scope at th'top. Y'see that blue laser light on th'wall over there?" Scout nodded again. "That'll 'elp you aim. Once you find your target, pull th'trigger. Careful with th'knockback, though. This baby can 'it ya in th'face if y'aren't careful."

"Sounds easy enough," commented Scout.

"Try aimin' for that 'eavy over there to start. 'e's a slow, large target. Great for beginners." Scout nodded and took aim. Sniper noticed that Scout was having a little difficulty with the large weapon. "Try 'oldin' your breath t'steady yourself." Scout held his breath, re-aimed, then pulled the trigger. The knockback from the weapon caused him to nearly lose his grip on the rifle and for him to fall backwards into Sniper, who caught him and held him steady. The two looked at each other in silence for a moment. As soon as they heard the sound of the RED Heavy scream in pain and cry for Medic, the two burst into hysterical laughter.

"Sounds like I got him!" exclaimed Scout excitedly. Sniper readjusted his hat, calming his laughter.

"Not bad for a first try!" complimented the Australian. "Good job!"

"Yeah, yeah! Thanks!" Sniper took off Scout's hat and headset, ruffling the boy's hair. Scout flailed his arms to get him to stop as he snatched his headgear back. "Gimmie that!"

"So, what do y'think about th'sniper rifle?"

"I'll try it a few more times before I make a final decision, I think." Sniper nodded, positioning Scout once more to take aim. Scout had a hard time finding a suitable target that would hold still long enough. He wasn't necessarily aiming for a headshot; at that point, any kind of shot would do. After a bit, he had almost stopped caring about finding a target and just enjoyed the position he was in with Sniper. The butterflies in his stomach caused his hands to shake a little and his heart to race, which made sniping even more difficult. With the silence between the two gnawing at his sanity, he decided to break it with small talk. "Hey, Snipes?"

"What is it, Scout?"

"When the war is over…what do you plan to do?" Sniper rested his chin on Scout's bony shoulder in thought.

"Hmm…that's a good one. I 'adn't really given much thought t'it, t'be 'onest. I guess I'd go back t'Australia and do what I did before."

"What did you do before coming here?"

"I 'unted wild game mostly, but I also took a side job as an assassin." Scout looked at him, turning his head slightly. Sniper continued. "I was runnin' out of employment opportunities, and I didn't make any money with 'untin animals, so I took th'job with BLU." Scout frowned slightly.

"What kind of people were you hired to kill?" Sniper smiled at him.

"I assure you, I chose my jobs carefully. I only killed th'ones who deserved to die – the ones who would 'ave either been on death row or rotting in a jail cell for th'rest of their miserable lives." Scout nodded, smiling lightly. Sniper turned his head to look at Scout, whose face was dangerously close. The two stared into each other's eyes, then slowly drew their faces in. Sniper quickly pulled away at the sound of a syringe gun being shot at them from down below.

"Snipes?" asked Scout worriedly. Sniper tackled Scout to the ground, protecting the boy's head.

"Get down!" he shouted. Scout helped cover his own head once he heard the syringes being shot into the room. He cringed when he heard Sniper grunt in pain multiples times, knowing that his buddy had gotten hit. Once the barrage of needles ceased, Sniper pushed himself up off of Scout, then collapsed onto his side, wincing in pain. Scout sat up and lifted Sniper's upper body up carefully so as not to injure him further.

"Snipes! Hang in there!" Sniper managed a chuckle.

"I'm goin' t'be sent back t'respawn, you goof." Scout looked slightly panicked.

"What do I do in the meantime when you're on your way back?" Sniper's joking expression quickly turned serious. He spoke in a low voice.

"I want you t'ide in 'ere until I get back. Stay in a corner if y'can t'avoid back attacks. Feel free to Spy Check me when I get back." Scout nodded slightly, feeling Sniper's life slip away from him in his arms. When the Australian went limp, Scout knew he was dead. He pulled out his Scattergun and held it close, backing into a corner behind the crates they used as seats, squatting down and keeping an eye on the door for anyone and everyone that could come into the nest. Scout knew it would be about two minutes roughly for Sniper to return, so he counted the seconds in his head nervously.

At exactly two minutes, he saw Sniper come back into the nest. Scout pulled out his baseball and Sandman, hitting it as hard as he could. He hit Sniper's stomach with the ball, causing the man to double over. Satisfied with his Spy Check, Scout got up and rushed over to Sniper, dropped his bat, and helped his friend stand up straight.

"You okay, Snipes?" he asked worriedly. Sniper simply nodded, looking at him with a sly smile. The two turned around quickly when they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Scout blinked in confusion when he saw another BLU Sniper standing in the doorway with a shocked look on his face.

"Scout, get away from 'im!" cried out the Sniper in the doorway. "That's not me!" The Sniper he was standing next to stepped in front of him and pulled out his kukri.

"Don't' listen to 'im, Scout!" he pleaded. "Stay out of the way! I'll take 'im down!" Scout swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded, backing away as the two Snipers circled each other. Scout felt horrible for not being able to tell which Sniper was which. They both had identical scars on their nose and cheek. If the two could somehow take their glasses off, it'd be easier for him to differentiate between the two. He knew his Sniper had green eyes, but he wasn't too sure about the other one.

Scout tensed up when the two began to duel each other with their kukri's. The two knocked each other's weapons out of the other's hands and were soon on the ground wrestling and punching each other. Seeing as how neither Sniper turned into a Spy, Scout knew that one of the Snipers belonged to RED. Scout wanted to knock the fake one out, but it was still impossible to tell the two apart. He suddenly remembered the match outside of the nest and ran to the window. He spotted RED's Demoman, then waved at him frantically.

"Yo, RED Demo! Up here!" shouted Scout. Demoman skidded to a stop in the snow and looked up, confused.

"Danny?" he asked curiously. He quickly remembered Scout's distressed done and got worried. "What's wrong?"

"Your Sniper's up here with mine! Get up here now!"

"Alright! I'll be up there soon!"

"Thanks, De-AH!" Scout let out a yelp as he was pulled back into the room by one of the Snipers. Scout broke free of the man's grasp and faced him, backing away quickly. Scout saw his Sniper down for the count on the ground while the threatening Sniper reached for his kukri as he approached the Bostonian. Scout quickly kicked the kukri away and ran to his Sandman on the ground. The man pushed Scout out of the way and grabbed the bat himself. Within a split second, he swung and hit Scout hard in the head, knocking the boy out instantly. The man dropped the weapon and picked up Scout over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Sniper woke up moments later and quickly regained his senses when he registered the scene before him in his head. With his free hand, the other Sniper pulled out his submachine gun and aimed it at Sniper.

"Stay right where you are!" he ordered. Sniper gave him a look.

"Y'do realize I'll be sent back to respawn, right?" he asked in a tone that questioned the other man's intelligence.

"I do, which means it'll give me enough time t'get out of 'ere with th'boy." Sniper tensed up, knowing that he and Scout were screwed regardless of whether he was sent back to respawn or not.

The two suddenly heard the battle cry of RED's Demoman. Within a second, the Scotsman charged into nest with his Chargin' Targe, driving the spike into the man's stomach with enough force to knock him down and drop the unconscious Scout onto the floor. Sniper quickly rushed to Scout's side as Demoman laughed, pulling his traitorous teammate up and onto his shoulder.

"Looks like I came in the knick o' time!" bellowed Demoman. He looked down at Scout. "'is he goin' to be okay?" Sniper finished checking him over, then held him close, a pained expression on his face.

"Yeah, 'e'll be fine," he said, trying to reassure himself of the truth. Demoman frowned.

"It's not your fault, y'know." Sniper squeezed his eyes shut.

"I should 'ave been more careful…"

"The boy's safe now. That's the most important thing." Sniper nodded slightly, the look of guilt not leaving his face.

"Yeah…thanks, Demoman."

"Y'might want to 'ead back to respawn and stay there. Th'match ends in a minute. A pre-emptive congratulations to your team on your victory today." Sniper nodded again slightly, remaining silent. As Demoman left, Scout groaned and opened his eyes. Sniper gave Scout a worried look.

"Are you okay?" he inquired. Scout reached up and pulled away Sniper's sunglasses. When he saw the man's green eyes, he relaxed a bit and nodded. He suddenly regretted the move when he felt a wave of pain hit him, causing him to shut his eyes tightly and whimper a bit. Sniper frowned deeply. He put his sunglasses back on, carefully picked up Scout and stood up. "C'mon…let's go back to respawn and wait for Medic."

As he carried Scout down the stairs, he prayed that his sunglasses would hide his watering eyes.


	24. Fighting Drive

_Author's Note: Gah! Late update again! Sorry about that! I was so caught up with the NCAA tournament that I forgot how long ago I updated._

_I've finished fully writing Paternal and am currently working on a prequel. Keep your eyes open for that in the coming month! I'm also going back and changing some things with a few of the previous chapters that have been published. They're minor changes in regards to this story, but they're important for the prequel._

_Thanks again for the reviews! Keep 'em comin'!_

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Chapter 24 - Fighting Drive

It took Sniper a little while longer to get back to respawn with Scout. Throughout his trek, his adrenaline rush he had when he woke up faded and his injuries were reminding his body that they were still there. Bruises began to form on his face and arms as blood continued to seep through his clothes on his left side from a deep gash from the other Sniper's kukri. Sniper could feel his strength quickly leaving him, but he refused to give into his injuries until he could get Scout somewhere safe.

Scout, who was still miraculously awake despite his concussion he sustained from the ordeal, forced his eyes open through the intense pain in his head, trying to stay aware of his surroundings. He was well aware of Sniper's condition and even offered to walk on his own at one point, but Sniper would have none of it. Scout felt guilty for not being able to help the Australian both then and back during the fray in Sniper's nest. In his pain, however, it took him a bit to realize that Sniper was heading in the direction of the wrong base. Scout began to panic.

"Snipes! SNIPES!" he screamed, flailing in his arms. Sniper wouldn't stop. Scout looked through Sniper's sunglasses to see the man's eyes had slightly glazed over as if he were trying to shut out the pain and fatigue he was feeling. "Snipes! We're going the wrong way!" It was no use; Sniper wasn't paying attention. He soon saw the ground getting closer to him quickly as Sniper passed out from his injuries, landing both of them in the snow. Scout brought his hands down to catch himself on the ground to prevent himself from injuring his head further, but the impact his body made with the ground jostled his head worse than when he had nodded earlier, sending another wave of intense pain through it. He cringed and suddenly felt like he was going to be sick.

Scout could no longer stay awake. The last thing he saw in his blurred vision before losing consciousness was a large mass of red rushing toward him.

* * *

"Is he going…okay?"

"Ja. Vith…dispe…Engineer made, zhey vill be okay."

"Danny? Danny, open your eyes, Kiddo."

Scout slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Red leaning over him worriedly. Red placed his hand on Scout's forehead and gently moved it to his left cheek. Seeing his father in front of him made him realize that he was back in the BLU base. He looked around and saw the rest of the team in the infirmary with him. His eyes settled on Sniper, who was sleeping in the bed next to his. He saw a dispenser was nestled between the beds, the hum of the healing beam on Sniper and himself ringing through his ears. His attention was soon drawn back to his father.

"How are you feeling?" Red asked softly. Scout realized that the pain he had been feeling before he passed out was gone.

"I'm feeling fine," he answered. "But…what happened? How did Snipes and I get here?"

"My team's Heavy saw you and Sniper collapse and brought you two here. He was surprisingly gentle. He damn near snapped me in half bringing me back to my base after ceasefire once!" Scout chuckled a bit before frowning once more.

"Your Sniper attacked us." Red's eyes widened with the rest of the team's. "He was posing as Snipes when the real one was sent to respawn. While the two were dueling it out with their kukris, I called your Demo over to get his Sniper. Snipes had been knocked out cold." Scout closed his eyes tightly, trying to jog his memory. "I remember the two of us reachin' for my bat…then intense pain…then waking up in Snipes' arms with a killer headache."

"I'm glad you two are okay now," sighed Spy in relief. "Do you know what happened after you got knocked out?" Scout shook his head. Engineer cleared his throat.

"I saw RED's Demoman carry off an unconscious BLU Sniper, but I had a feeling it was their traitorous bastard," he explained.

"Very eloquently stated, Dell," commented Red.

"Dad? What color are your Sniper's eyes?" enquired Scout.

"Amber, if I remember correctly." Scout sighed in relief, knowing he returned with the correct Sniper. Worried about the man in question, Scout got out of bed and went to Sniper's bedside. He shook Sniper's shoulder gently, causing the Australian to stir slightly. Sniper opened his eyes moments later, taking in Scout's concerned expression. He quickly sat up, his eyes slightly wide. Scout put his hands on Sniper's shoulders firmly, looking into his eyes.

"Snipes, calm down!" he pleaded. "We're back at our base, don't worry." Sniper blinked a few times, taking everything in. He then pulled Scout into a tight embrace, catching the teen off-guard. He closed his eyes and rested his head on Scout's shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're safe," stated Sniper. "I'm sorry I failed t'protect you…" It was Scout's turn to blink in confusion.

"I don't understand. What happened?" Sniper pulled back slightly, putting a hand on the side of Scout's head.

"When I woke up in the nest, that Sniper 'ad you over 'is shoulder! 'e almost got away with you!" Scout's eyes widened in horror. "'e had his gun pointed at me and could 'ave sent me back t'respawn. I…I was powerless to do anything. If RED's Demoman 'adn't shown up and stabbed 'im in th'stomach with 'is Chargin' Targe, 'e…" Sniper was cut off by Scout hugging him tightly.

"It's okay, Snipes…I'm okay…" Sniper looked down at Scout wide-eyed. Spy cringed slightly when he saw a stray tear fall down Sniper's face as he just sat there stunned. Spy walked over to the two and placed a gentle hand on Sniper's shoulder. Sniper snapped out of whatever trance he had been under and quickly turned his head in the Frenchman's direction. Spy frowned.

"Do you need some time alone?" he asked quietly. Sniper nodded slightly as he lowered his head. Spy moved his hand to Scout's shoulder, trying to carefully pull the boy away from Sniper. "C'mon, Scout. Let's give Sniper some space for a little while." Scout looked at Spy, then at Sniper, who merely turned his gaze away. Scout frowned, then sighed in defeat. Spy put a comforting arm around Scout's shoulders and guided him out of the infirmary. The rest of the team began to follow suit, eventually leaving Sniper by himself. Unable to take the silence and stuffiness of the infirmary, Sniper got out of bed, grabbed his hat and sunglasses, then rushed out.

* * *

Sniper sat on the roof of the base later on that evening, hugging his legs to his chest. He stared off at the horizon blankly, deep in his own thoughts. He didn't care that the temperature had dropped significantly and that it could start snowing again at any moment. The only thing he could think of was his failure from the day's match. He hated himself for not being more careful and allowing himself to put Scout in danger the way he did. He placed the heel of his right palm into the bridge of his nose and shuts his eyes tightly, letting out a deep sigh.

He opened his eyes in surprise and lifted his head up when he felt a warm blanket draped across his shoulders and heard a bottle of beer being set down on the tile roof next to him. He turned his head in the direction of Engineer, who removed his hands from the beer he just set down. The Texan sat himself down next to Sniper with a bottle of beer in his gloved hand.

"You looked cold and like you needed some cheering up," stated Engineer. Sniper graciously picked up the beer next to him and opened it, taking a few gulps of the liquid bread (as Demoman liked to put it). Engineer frowned. "Are you feeling any better?"

"No, I'm not," answered Sniper, sighing once more. He suddenly blinked. "Isn't Red supposed t'be with you?"

"Red's with Solly right now so I could check up on you." Sniper frowned. He looked down at his beer bottle.

"I'm such an idiot…"

"None of us were expecting an attack like that. It's not your fault." Sniper shut his eyes tightly, lowering his head.

"You didn't see Scout's face when I told him what 'appened! That look of 'orror in his eyes…and when 'e 'ugged me to assure me 'e was okay, 'e was trembling! I caused that!"

"Sniper, you know that's not true," scolded Engineer. "And if you give me the 'yes it is' argument, so help me, I'll Spy Check you so hard, you'll regret ever thinking that!" Sniper managed a slight smirk and chuckle before frowning deeply once more.

"That's not the only thing that's bothering me…" Engineer took a swig of his beer and glanced at his friend. "Scout asked me what I planned t'do after th'war. I told 'im I'd probably go back t'Australia and do what I did before."

"I don't see anything wrong with that."

"That's not th'right answer when you're trying t'win 'is 'eart! I should have said, 'I'd go wherever you will go', or, 'I'd stay by your side and take care of you', or…"

"Okay, okay, I get it," interrupted Engineer. Engineer watched Sniper take some more gulps of his beer. "If I know Scout, I don't think he'd fault you for that answer. Did he seem disappointed or anything like that when you answered?" Sniper readjusted his hat.

"We nearly kissed before that bloody RED Medic went into battle mode and shot his syringe gun at us. Bloody Battle Medic…" Engineer chuckled lightly at Sniper's mini-rant.

"Then I don't think you have anything to worry about." Engineer looked over his shoulder, then smiled. "And I think this is proof right here." Sniper looked over his shoulder to see what Engineer was talking about and saw Scout standing behind them.

"Scout?" asked Sniper, shocked. "I thought you were with Spy tonight!"

"Spy and I rescheduled for tomorrow evening," explained the Bostonian. "I wanted to spend some more time with you tonight. I got worried when you were actin' the way you were in the infirmary earlier." Engineer stood up and patted Sniper on the shoulder, smiling.

"I'll leave you two be then," announced Engineer. "I'll be nearby in case either of you two need anything! Just holler if you do!" And with those words, he made his way back inside. Scout walked over to Sniper and sat down next to him. Sniper grabbed the corners of his blanket and pulled Scout in closer, wrapping him in his arms under the blanket to keep the boy warm.

"Scout, I'm sorry for what happened today," apologized Sniper. Scout shook his head.

"It's okay. I'm over it," admitted Scout. Sniper frowned.

"You looked so terrified, though. I thought…" Scout put a finger up to Sniper's lips to silence him.

"I'm okay, really. I was just shocked to find out what happened. Thank you…for tryin' to protect me." Sniper held Scout tighter.

"I just don't want anything bad t'appen t'you. I love you too much t'see you suffering like that." Scout frowned, resting his head on Sniper's shoulder, staring at the man's chest. Sniper frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I hate makin' you worry so much," said Scout softly. "I feel like one of those damsels-in-distress from those books I used to read as a kid, and I hate it! I feel so…so helpless to do anythin'! You guys are bustin' your asses out there and risking your lives for me, and what am I doin'?" Scout paused to collect himself, having heard his voice beginning to squeak a bit. "I'm bein' a little useless crybaby and actin' like a frightened child instead of like a strong, brave guy like you." Sniper hugged him tighter, pulling him closer.

"Scout," he began with a calming tone, "it's okay t'be scared and t'depend on us. And you're not useless." Scout looked up at him in disbelief. "I've seen you fight out there. Your skills 'ave actually improved since we got 'ere! Besides…you've given all of us something irreplaceable."

"What's that?" Sniper smiled warmly.

"A reason t'fight in this crazy war: you. Despite what you think of yourself, you're definitely worth fighting for, and I wouldn't change a thing about it. Even when we weren't dealin' with our boss, Bane and that sorry excuse for a Sniper, you've been my fighting drive since I first met you. I'm not just fightin' for a paycheck anymore; I'm fightin' for you." Scout stared into Sniper's eyes at a loss for words. Sniper kept the blanket closed around them with one hand and lifted his free one up to run his fingers through Scout's hair, bringing it around to cup his cheek and caress it gently.

"Would…would it be bad if I kissed you now?" asked Scout timidly. "Even though…" Sniper cut him off by placing a quick peck on Scout's lips.

"You need to figure out who will make you 'appiest, and this is one of those ways. And Scout?"

"Hm?"

"I just want you t'know that no matter what you decide, I want you t'be 'appy, even if it's not with me, Scout. Or may I call you Danny?" Scout smiled.

"Danny's fine. And thanks, Snipes."

"Jack…my name's Jack." Scout's smile grew slightly.

"Jack…" Sniper stroked Scout's cheek once more with his thumb as the two leaned in and closed their eyes, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss.


	25. Je t'aime

_Author's Note: Sorry for another late update. I was going to update yesterday, but I got called into work earlier than expected and didn't get home until around 1 AM. Things are starting to get crazy again with two performances in one week, a 15-page paper due on Tuesday and a group presentation on the 7th (which is also my birthday). After that, things should be settling down for a bit until finals._

_Keep those reviews coming! I love reading them! Iz, I do apologize about the dialogue. How I write seems to depend on the mood that I'm in. When I'm in a very good mood, I've noticed that my dialogue tends to get the way that you've described it, especially for the not-so-epic scenes. I'll be sure to try and improve on that since that could prove to be a hindrance in future writings._

_Enjoy the chapter!  
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Chapter 25 - Je t'aime

A ceasefire had been called for the day due to more snow having fallen overnight. Coupled with the rest of the snow already on the ground, it was near impossible to maneuver around Viaduct without being knee-deep in snow. After the morning meeting announcing the ceasefire and tasking Pyro, Demoman and Heavy with clearing as much snow around the base as possible, the team sat down, ate breakfast and enjoyed Spy's famous coffee.

Spy had a little bit of time to himself as Scout went to see Medic for a check-up (Medic requested a daily check-up since Scout's bout with pneumonia over the weekend). Spy chose that time to plot how he would spend the day with the man he loved. He paced back and forth in the hallway outside of the infirmary. He only stopped when he saw Red and Engineer walking in his direction.

"Hey there," greeted Engineer. "What's with the pacing?"

"Just trying to plan out my day with Scout while I wait for him," answered Spy. "What brings you two out here?"

"Medic's going to check my hand," explained Red. "I should hopefully be getting my stitches out today."

"I thought Medic was going to use his Medigun on it?"

"Yeah…that whole BLUs being unable to heal REDs thing? That still applies in this case." Spy chuckled a bit. Red cocked an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. You just sounded like your son for a moment, that's all." Red smiled slightly, scratching his temple with his index finger.

"I guess I'm picking up some of Danny's mannerisms and speech. And speaking of my son…" Red walked up to Spy and put an arm around his shoulders. He began to speak in a low voice. "…try anything funny with my son that hurts him and I will murder you in your sleep. Comprende?" Spy nodded, albeit nervously. Red patted him on the back and stepped toward Engineer. Spy scowled.

"How come I'm the only one to get that paternal warning?"

"Oh, I gave Sniper the same warning yesterday. As much as I like and approve of you two, I still don't want to see you two hurt Danny. He's been through enough already."

"I completely understand, Red," assured Spy. "The last thing I want to see is Scout getting hurt. I care too much about him to let that happen."

"Get the fuck away from me!" shouted Scout on the other side of the door. The three men in the hallway rushed into the infirmary in a panic. Their fears were abated when they saw Medic with a syringe in his hand and a stressed out expression on his face as he stared angrily at Scout, who was standing on the opposite side of the bed as Medic, gripping a pillow tightly as a shield.

"Scout, I need to administer zhis shot!" explained Medic. "According to your records, you're overdue for your booster shot, and you're vell enough to take it!"

"You freakin' _stab_, man!" squeaked Scout.

"Only because you don't hold still, Dummkopf! You are acting like a child!" Scout gripped the pillow tighter, his knuckles turning white. Spy calmly walked over to Scout and placed an arm around his shoulders. Scout looked up at the Frenchman as Spy took the pillow away. Spy guided Scout to the bed, motioning for him to sit down. Scout resisted at first, but eventually gave in and sat down. Spy took a seat next to him and gently placed a hand on Scout's cheek.

"Look at me," ordered Spy softly. Scout did as he was told and looked into Spy's blue eyes. "Just keep your eyes on me. It'll be fine." Scout nodded slightly, never taking his gaze off of him. As Spy caressed Scout's cheek and said soothing words to the boy, Medic carefully took Scout's arm and administered the shot. To Scout's surprise, the shot didn't hurt. Medic placed a band-aid over where the needle went in and ruffled Scout's hair.

"Zhere, all done," announced the doctor. Scout looked at his arm, then at Medic.

"Thanks, Doc," said Scout timidly. The boy frowned slightly. "And…sorry for how I acted. I just really hate needles." Medic cocked an eyebrow.

"You can handle being shot, stabbed and set on fire, but you can't handle a miniscule needle?" questioned Medic skeptically. Red cleared his throat.

"You'll have to excuse my son's behavior," he apologized. "He's always been bad around needles." Scout narrowed his eyes at his father.

"And how do you know this, Dad?"

"Your mother told me. She wrote me a letter when you were three that you locked yourself in the bathroom in the doctor's office to avoid getting a shot. They had to unhinge the door to get you out."***** Spy snickered a bit, which caused Scout to hit him in the stomach with the back of his hand.

"Shush!" hissed Scout. Spy rubbed his stomach, but continued to grin at the Bostonian. Scout's expression softened when he looked at Spy. "By the way, thanks for helping me out. I owe ya." Spy's grin softened into a smile as he ruffled Scout's hair.

"How about we begin our day together?" he suggested. Scout smiled excitedly and nodded. The two stood up and excused themselves, heading out into the hallway. Spy was about to guide Scout to the living room, but Scout had another idea. He took Spy's hand and dragged him into the kitchen. "Scout, why are you taking me here?"

"It's almost lunch time, so I figured I'd make us something," answered Scout. Spy blinked.

"You cook?"

"Yeah. I started cooking in high school to help Ma out." Spy smiled tenderly as they entered the kitchen, watching Scout rummage the cupboards and refrigerator for food.

"Well, if it's coming from you, I'm sure it will be delicious." Scout laughed.

"I'm just making us some sandwiches! It's not like I'm cooking everyone dinner!" Scout stopped. "Come to think of it…that doesn't sound like a bad idea. I think I'll do that before we finally leave Viaduct. Kind of as a thank you to everyone for helpin' me out, y'know?" Scout looked over at Spy, who walked over to Scout and kissed his forehead lovingly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Lapin, you truly are special." Scout wrinkled his nose.

"Could you cut the bunny crap already!" Spy chuckled.

"You looked like one when you wrinkled your nose like that!" Scout snickered.

"Yeah, and since we're on that, you still owe me a French lesson."

"Very well. How about we work on that now while we're eating?"

"I'd like that," Scout replied as he smiled.

As Scout made their sandwiches, Spy worked on teaching him the alphabet first. Spy couldn't help but laugh when Scout tried to pronounce everything with his thick Bostonian accent. He tried having Scout learn a few simple phrases as they ate, but his accent kept getting in the way again. Scout began to grow frustrated since he couldn't pronounce anything correctly, but Spy soothed his tension by seductively articulating romantic French phrases in his ear softly, causing Scout to chuckle and blush deeply.

Once the two finished eating, they began to clean up the kitchen. Spy looked out the window at the courtyard of the base where he could see Pyro, Demoman and Heavy clearing out snow. He motioned for Scout to come over with a grin as he saw Demoman and Heavy get into a verbal altercation over something. The two laughed as they saw Demoman flailing his arms about while Heavy put his hands on his hips, towering over the Scotsman. They laughed harder when they saw Heavy get angered enough to grab a snowball in his hand and chuck it at Demoman. In their hysterical laughter, neither saw Demoman duck. The snowball went through the window and hit Spy in the head hard enough to cause him to lose his footing, slip on a puddle of water that had spilled on the floor from the sink. He came crashing down onto the ground, hitting his head on the tile floor hard enough to cause him to black out.

* * *

"Spy? Spy! Wake up, man!"

Spy slowly opened his eyes as he felt something cold on the back of his head. He looked up and saw Scout's worried face with Pyro, Demoman and Heavy standing behind him with equally worried expressions. He then realized that he was lying on the floor in the kitchen in Scout's arms as the boy held an ice pack to the back of Spy's head.

"What happened?" he asked groggily. "How long was I out for?"

"Only a minute," answered Scout. "Heavy didn't realize that he grabbed a snow-covered rock instead of an actual snowball when he threw that thing at Demo. You got hit by it when it went through the window and you fell, hitting your head hard enough to knock you out."

"I am sorry, Little Spy," apologized Heavy. "It will not happen again. I will fix window and finish dishes."

"You might want me to do that, boyo," suggested Demoman nervously. "You might break somethin' else." Heavy frowned.

"I want to make up for what I did, though!" Spy sat up and took the ice pack from Scout, keeping it on his head. He looked up at Heavy.

"No need to worry about it, Heavy," said Spy. "It was a simple accident. Apology accepted." Heavy smiled graciously as Scout helped Spy stand up.

"We should probably put some clean clothes on, though," Scout suggested. Spy looked at himself and saw that his suit jacket was wet from the sink. He looked at Scout and saw that he had mustard and mayonnaise stains on his shirt. Spy cocked an eyebrow.

"How did you get that?" he questioned. Scout scratched his temple with his index finger and grinned sheepishly.

"I kind of pulled my dirty dish to myself when I jumped back in shock from what happened." Spy snickered, then placed an arm around Scout's shoulders.

"That gives me an idea. Come with me." Scout blinked as Spy guided him out of the kitchen, leaving Heavy, Demoman and Pyro to grin at each other, wiggling their eyebrows.

Spy made his way to his bedroom with Scout. He opened the door for his guest like a gentleman would, motioning for Scout to enter. Scout nodded to Spy and made his way in. He had been in Spy's room before, but he was always amazed at how clean it was. He watched Spy take off his jacket and put it in his hamper with the rest of his dirty clothes. He pulled out one of his other identical suit jackets from his closet and put it on, adjusting himself. He reached further back into the closet and pulled out a bluish-gray suit, matching vest and a white collared shirt, handing them to Scout. Scout took it and gave Spy a confused look.

"Put this on," ordered Spy kindly. "Feel free to use my bathroom to change." Scout just nodded timidly as he made his way into Spy's bathroom, shutting the door behind him. After waiting patiently for about five minutes, he was awarded by watching Scout open the door in Spy's gray suit. Spy raised his eyebrows in amazement at how great Scout looked in it. Scout felt a little awkward being in a suit.

"Um…how do I look?" he asked, unsure of himself. Spy smiled lovingly at him.

"Very handsome, Scout," he replied in a smooth voice. "But something's missing…" He made his way over to his dresser and pulled out a blue and gray striped tie. He walked back over to Scout and placed the tie on him, tying it properly and tucking it into the vest Scout was wearing underneath the jacket. He stepped back a bit and smiled once more. "There. Perfect. Take a look at yourself." He gestured over to the full-length mirror attached to his closet door. Scout cocked an eyebrow.

"Why do you have a mirror in your closet?"

"I have to look presentable before going onto the battlefield."

"Yup! You're gay!" Spy laughed, standing behind Scout and putting his hands on his shoulders as he guided him to the mirror.

"Look who's talking!" Scout made a face at Spy before chuckling himself. He finally faced the mirror and looked at himself in shock. He almost didn't recognize himself when he laid his eyes on his mirror image. Spy rested his chin on Scout's shoulder and smiled at his lover's reflection, rubbing his shoulders. "Like I said: very handsome. It suits you – no pun intended." Scout chuckled lightly, blushing once more and turning his head away. "What? You don't believe me?"

"I'm just not used to this kind of attention, that's all," admitted Scout. Spy blinked in surprise. "Growin' up, nobody else would even _think_ of considering me in that kind of light. I guess it was because of how childish and immature I acted." Spy turned Scout around and caressed his cheek, looking him in the eyes.

"Then they are fools for not realizing how wonderful of a person you are. If they took the time to see what was in here…" Spy lowered his hand to Scout's chest and placed it over his heart. "…then they would know that they truly have someone special in front of them. They would see the kind, thoughtful, and beautiful heart that you have." Scout felt his face blush more as Spy said those words to him, causing a tender smile to form on his face. Spy leaned in to place a kiss on Scout's lips, but Scout put a finger up to Spy's.

"Wait," interrupted Scout. Spy gave him a confused look. "I want to see your face. Please?" Spy smiled once more.

"Very well. Only because it's you." Spy carefully pulled off his balaclava and revealed a handsome face behind it. Spy's blue eyes seemed bluer with his light brown hair that fell down around his eyes before he slicked it back with his hand. Scout brought his hand up to Spy's hair and combed his fingers through it, letting it fall back into place naturally over the tops of Spy's ears. He brought his hand down to Spy's face and placed it there gently, gliding his thumb along his high cheekbone. He slowly traced his hand down to Spy's jaw and around to his chin. He pulled his hand away a bit before Spy took it into his own and held it to his chest.

"Je t'aime, Danny," spoke Spy amorously.

"What does that mean?" asked Scout.

"It means 'I love you'." With those words, he closed his eyes and gently kissed Scout's lips, causing the younger of the two to close his eyes and return it. After a bit, the two pulled apart and laid down on Spy's bed, embracing each other. Scout rested his head on Spy's shoulder as the Frenchman ran his fingers through Scout's hair. Scout looked up at Spy.

"Hey, Spy?" Spy looked down at him.

"Theo," he replied.

"Is that how you answer people in French?" Spy chuckled, ruffling Scout's hair.

"That's my name, you goof." Scout laughed a bit.

"Ah. Theo?"

"Yes?"

"What do you plan to do after the war?" Spy looked up at his ceiling, deep in thought.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. Probably travel the world a bit until I figure out what I want to do. Enjoy being free from our insane boss." He looked down at Scout. "What about you?" Scout looked at Spy's chest, playing with his tie a bit.

"I was, uh…thinking about goin' to college. Not sure where yet, though. Ma's been saving my money for me, so I'm goin' to use it for tuition and books and stuff."

"That's a very good plan. Do you know what you want to study yet?" Scout smiled a bit.

"I think I've finally decided on criminal justice, so I can be a detective or go into the FBI or CIA or somethin'."

"What brought all of that on?"

"With all of this investigatin' and stuff goin' on, I found that I actually like that kind of thing. And…I want to be able to bring justice to those that have been wronged, y'know?" Spy held Scout closer to himself protectively.

"I do know. And I want to do the same thing for you. I want to protect you and make those that have hurt you pay for what they've done. I hate seeing you scared and physically and emotionally wounded like I have the past week, and I hate how I've contributed to part of it. I'm so sorry for that." Scout frowned slightly.

"Theo, it's okay. I don't blame you or Sniper – uh, Jack. I just…I want to be stronger. I _need_ to be stronger. And you two are helping me get there, so…thank you…for everything that you've done for me." Spy kissed Scout's forehead and rubbed his back gently.

"Anytime."

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*****_Based on a true story. My older brother did the same thing when he was two. _


	26. He Returns

_Author's Note: EARLY UPDATE! I love this chapter too much to wait another day to post it. It was also the most difficult to start writing, especially at the beginning with six people talking - two from the same class! Iz, if the dialogue drives you nuts in this one, don't feel alone; it drove me nuts, too XD_

_Enjoy!_

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Chapter 26 - He Returns

Red, Engineer and Soldier stood in the conference room, waiting to start a teleconference with RED's Demoman, Scout and Engineer. Soldier had allowed Red to sneak over to his base to deliver a message to his Demoman about the requested conference. He temporarily borrowed his son's headset to keep in constant communication with Engineer to assure his safety during his cloaked mission.

Red looked back down at his injured hand. Medic advised that he wait another day before removing the stitches but stated that it was healing nicely. He hadn't realized how deeply he stabbed himself with the pen the other day. He no longer could feel pain and could finally make a gentle fist, but he could feel his stitches pull if he stretched his fingers out. He was grateful that it wasn't his dominant hand so he could still perform the tasks he needed to around the base.

His attention returned to the screen when it came on, his RED teammates appearing on the screen. The six greeted each other, then sat down to begin their business for the night.

"I'm assuming you disabled the security camera in your base?" questioned Soldier.

"I couldn't exactly disable the video portion of it, but I was able to turn off the sound recording," explained RED's Engineer.

"I had the same issue over here, Bill," explained Dell. "The Administrator's got some pretty sophisticated security equipment on these bases."

"At least the sound's disabled so she can't hear our conversation," stated Scout. Red frowned.

"We should be careful with how we talk, though," suggested Red. "She can read lips, so try to use as little mouth movement as you can." The others nodded. "So, any updates with your Sniper?" Demoman narrowed his eyes hatefully.

"That bloody son-of-a-bitch won't talk," he hissed. "No matter what we do to 'im, 'e won't tell us anything! Just what kind o' connection does that bastard 'ave!"

"DeGroot, calm down," ordered Soldier firmly.

"All we know about him is that he's got some kind of connection with The Administrator," confirmed Bill. "What that connection is, I'm not sure." Red glared at the table.

"Yes, and he's partnered with Bane, whose been incredibly quiet as of late," he growled. "We leave Viaduct in two days and we have nothing to show for it – no plans on capturing those two, no plans on stopping Helen…nothing!" He looked up at the RED Team. "When we get to Coldfront, as per our agreement between the two teams, I have to return to RED. What am I supposed to do about Danny? How am I going to be able to watch out for him during ceasefire times? How are we going to find Bane's new respawn point?" Engineer placed a hand on Red's back as he watched his friend grab his head in frustration, rest his elbows on the conference table and let out a loud sigh.

"My turn to tell you to calm down, Red," said Engineer. "We'll get through this." Demoman frowned at Red. Scout pondered for a bit.

"I just thought of something," he announced.

"That's a surprise," scoffed Bill. Demoman and Scout hit him in the back of the head simultaneously before Scout continued.

"Bane's respawn point was on the outskirts of the RED base, and his partner is on the RED team. Wouldn't his respawn point in Coldfront be near the RED base then?"

"Unless there's someone on BLU that's also in cahoots with The Administrator," contested Bill. Dell shook his head.

"Nope," he stated. "Red and I did some background checks on BLU the other night and the only one with any kind of a connection to her is Red's son." Scout blinked in surprise.

"Shit, really?" he choked. "How?" Red's frustrated expression transitioned into a furious one.

"That bitch tricked him into joining BLU solely to get to me!" he hissed. "I swear, the first chance I get, I'm killing her! I don't care what happens to me! I just want her to leave my family alone!"

"Red, calm down!" forcefully ordered Engineer. "You freaking out isn't helping us right now!" Red took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes Spy had given him and took one out. He lit it and took a long drag of it, calming his nerves.

"I apologize. I've just been a nervous wreck lately."

"Understandably."

"Back to the issue at hand," interrupted Soldier. "We need to come up with a plan to capture Bane. We'll worry about stopping The Administrator after we get Bane in custody."

"We could always do a midnight raid on his hideout," suggested Scout. Soldier shook his head.

"If he ends up not being there, that leaves our bases open, and he'd more than likely end up in mine since his target is there."

"What if we set it on fire?"

"What the hell are you! A Pyro?"

"Wait!" shouted Bill in excitement. All eyes were on him. "What if we had the ones who are supposed to be off the field anyway wait in ambush at his respawn point? That way when we kill him on the field and he respawns, he can be quickly apprehended before he even knows what hit him!" Dell grinned.

"That actually sounds like a great idea!" he exclaimed. "I second that notion." Soldier looked at Red.

"If we do this, you, Spy and Sniper will be the ones on the mission. Your son will stay with Engie. Does this work for you?" Red nodded.

"I have no issues with this plan," he answered. "Danny's in good hands with Dell."

"Then it's settled! I'll have you go over things with Spy and Sniper tomorrow and we'll be good to go!" All six nodded, said their good-byes and cut off all communications for the night.

* * *

Scout laid quietly in bed with his eyes closed, trying to fall asleep. He had been trying for a few hours, but to no avail. Once again, he couldn't get Spy and Sniper out of his head, and it was driving him nuts. Despite the great time he had spending alone time with both of the ones he loved, it didn't make his decision making any easier. If anything, it made it harder for himself, especially considering his own plans for when the war ended. Whomever he chose, would he be holding them back from doing what they wanted to do? What about his plans for college? Would he have to put those plans on hold to be with them? His father was okay with a relationship with either one of them, but what would his mother and brothers think? Would he still be accepted by his family?

When he heard snoring coming from both of the men in sleeping bags on his floor, he quietly sat up and stared at both of their sleeping forms. He frowned when he remembered how each man reacted when something happened to him. Sniper's look of utter guilt and terror from the RED Sniper's attack would never leave Scout's mind. He could still feel Spy shaking as he held him protectively, assuring himself that everything was going to be okay. He hated seeing them like that. It made him feel guilty for putting so much stress on them and making them worry so.

There was no way he could fall asleep at this point. He needed to clear his mind, and the only way he could think of was to run laps in the training room. He knew if Spy and Sniper woke up and found out he was by himself, he would never hear the end of it. Hoping to at least alleviate their fears, he decided to leave a note as to where he was going to be. He quietly pulled out a notepad and pen from his nightstand and scribbled in the dark:

_Jack and Theo,_

_Running laps in the training room. Be back shortly._

_-Danny_

Once he placed the note on his bed, he grabbed his tennis shoes and silently tip-toed around his sleeping companions and to his closed door. He was grateful that he oiled the door when they arrived, for it made no sound when he opened it. He closed it carefully before making his way down the hall still in his white t-shirt, gray sweatpants and socks.

When he arrived in the training room, he looked up at the windows toward the ceiling and could see the full moon shining through, illuminating the room enough so Scout could see where he was going. He didn't feel the need to turn the light on (mostly to avoid getting into trouble by Soldier or someone else for being by himself if they happened to walk by). He sat down on the cold floor to put his shoes on, making haste in the process to avoid being cold for too long.

As soon as he finished, he hopped up onto his feet and began with a slow jog to get his muscles warmed up. After a lap, he began to jog faster. Eventually he was in a full-out run, feeling the cool air brush across his body to dry off the sweat that was forming on his skin. All of his thoughts seemed to fly away as he focused solely on what he was doing. The only thing coursing through his mind was how much he had missed running.

After running for about ten minutes, he slowed down to a stop, catching his breath and wiping the sweat off of his face with his shirt as he leaned his back against the eastern wall of the door. His legs felt a little like jell-o as he began to feel his stomach churn slightly. He knew that something bad was about to happen.

_Oh God_, he thought in a panic. _I've got to get out of here!_ He made a mad dash for the door, but ran into an invisible figure that quickly grabbed him and pinned him to the wall, clamping a hand over his mouth. He let out a muffled scream as Bane uncloaked himself, grinning at the boy. Bane leaned his head in to speak in a low voice in Scout's ear.

"Calm down. I'm not here to take you away," he stated. "Keep your voice down and I won't change my mind." Scout was terrified. He didn't know what Bane was planning to do to him; the fact that he was there at all with no intent of abducting him made his mind wander in so many different directions – none of them good. He didn't want to make things worse for himself, though, so he nodded slightly to comply with his captor's wishes. Bane smiled at him and slowly removed his hand from Scout's mouth and placed it on his shoulder.

"Why are you here?" asked Scout, his voice shaky.

"I just had to see you again. I've been unable to take you off of my mind since our first encounter." Scout remembered it all too well, which made his skin crawl. "Our last few meetings were merely to fulfill my mission. However…" He brought his hand up to caress Scout's paling cheeks. "…something about you stuck with me and has had me wanting more. I've been longing for your touch…your taste…your innocence…" Scout was shaking in fear. His heart was racing and the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. He pressed himself up against the wall knowing that he couldn't go anywhere; it just added a tiny amount of comfort to his situation. Bane noticed Scout's visible changes and merely grinned. "I've been watching you for a while now, waiting for my chance to get you alone. I thank you for giving me that opportunity tonight willingly."

"Like hell I came in here for you!" hissed Scout.

"Were you thinking of your two lovers?" Scout remained silent. "They don't deserve someone like you. They're weak men who can't protect you or give you what you want. I, however, can provide all of that. I can take you away from all of this death and destruction of lives. I can shelter you and keep you from harm. I can get you to where you want to be in life."

"Thanks, but no thanks! I can get there myself!"

"I'm afraid fate's already been decided for you, Daniel. The Administrator has already promised you to me once your father is out of the picture." Scout began to struggle, desperately trying to break free of Bane's hold of him. Bane slowly began to draw his face closer, aiming for a kiss. "I just couldn't wait that long to see you, though…"

"No! Get away from me! Let me go!" When it looked like Scout was about to scream for help, Bane pressed his lips against the frightened teen's. He pushed his body closer to Scout's and wrapped his arms around him in a way where it impeded the Bostonian's arm movements. He slipped his hand underneath Scout's shirt to feel the skin on his back, rubbing his fingers against his scar.

Despite being unable to escape, Scout continued to squirm and struggle, not giving up without a fight. He'd let out muffled screams as Bane kissed him deeply, feeling tears begin to stream freely down his face. He felt hope return to him as he heard loud footsteps in the hallway, more than likely belonging to Heavy (it was his turn for night duty). He could tell Bane heard them, too, when Bane pulled back and clamped a hand over Scout's mouth again as he glared at the door. He looked back at Scout.

"It looks like my time has been cut short. I shall see you again soon," he cooed. He took his other hand and brought it up to Scout's neck, pressing his thumb into Scout's pressure point, instantly knocking him out. He carefully laid Scout's unconscious form on the ground and listened as the footsteps began to fade away into nothing. He knelt down and caressed Scout's face, wiping away his tears. He leaned forward and kissed his lips once more before standing up. He looked over at Engineer's dispenser that he had built along the opposite wall. He took out one of his sappers and placed it on the machine before cloaking himself and exiting the room with a wicked grin.

* * *

"Spy's sappin' my dispenser!"

Red sat up in his sleeping bag with a surprised yelp, having been rudely awakened by Engineer's shouting. He glared at Engineer and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Dammit, Dell, it's too early for this kind of crap," he whined. Engineer threw the covers off of himself and got out of bed.

"Get up," he ordered. "We're going to the training room. My dispenser really is being sapped!"

"How do you even know these things?"

"Call it a sixth sense. But do you realize what this means?" Red stared at him, still not fully awake. "It means that Bane's here!" Red's eyes widened in horror as he jumped to his feet.

"Oh God, Danny!"

"He's with Spy and Sniper right now, and if they heard me in the next room, they should be awake and alert. You and I need to go to the training room and check things out." He pulled out a second pistol and handed it to Red. "Take this just in case, and don't tell Soldier I gave this to you." Red nodded and gripped it tightly.

The two quickly ran down to the training room, passing Heavy along the way. Unsure of what was going on, Heavy tagged along (after being Spy Checked by Engineer, of course). Once they made it into the training room, they quickly rushed over to Scout's unconscious form as soon as they spotted it. Red got there first and dropped down to his knees, taking Scout's upper body into his arms and lightly shaking him.

"Danny! Danny, c'mon, wake up!" pleaded Red. Scout groaned and slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was his father's unmasked face looking at him worriedly. Once it clicked in his head that he was in his father's arms, he quickly sat up on his own and hugged Red tightly, burying his face into his chest and breaking down into loud, hysterical sobs. Red put his hands on his shoulders firmly, trying to pull Scout back a little to get him to look at him, but to no avail. "Danny, what's wrong? What happened?" Scout just shook his head as he cried harder. Red felt the color leave his skin. His eyes widened and his body began to tremble in fear. He hugged his son close and rocked him back and forth, shutting his eyes tightly. "Shh, shh, it's okay. It's okay. Everything's going to be okay. I've got you."

"Heavy, alert everyone and get Medic in here as fast as you can," commanded Engineer quietly to his large companion. Heavy nodded and ran out of the room faster than he had ever run. Engineer looked over at the father and son. "It seems like Bane wanted us to find Scout, and since he hasn't attacked again since we got here, I think it's safe to assume he's not in this room." Red just nodded, holding Scout tighter. Engineer patted Red's back gently. "Everything's going to be fine. We'll get to the bottom of this." He immediately turned his head toward the door as he heard Spy and Sniper enter the room.

"Danny!" they cried out simultaneously. Engineer's eyebrows shot up.

"Spy Check!" He stood in-between the two and raised his arms up, clotheslining them both at the same time as they were rushing to Scout's side, knocking them both down onto their backs. The two let out loud grunts of pain as they landed on the hard floor. Engineer knelt down in-between their fallen forms and grabbed both of their necks, glaring down at them. "Why did you two call him Danny!"

"We're…on a first-name basis now…" coughed Sniper. Engineer studied both of their features carefully and could tell that they were the real Spy and Sniper.

"I'll give you two that, but now answer me this: why the hell were you two NOT with him!"

"He…snuck out…while we were sleeping," explained Spy in-between gasps. He held up the note that was left on Scout's bed. Engineer let go of the two and snatched the note from Spy's hand, reading it. Once he finished, he glared back down at the two.

"Well, you can obviously see that something happened in your absence!" Engineer gestured over to the hysterical Scout. "So help me, if Bane did something to him, I'm going to send you two to a whole world of hurt!" Spy and Sniper sat up and stared at Scout in shock. The boy's crying had not diminished since it started, which greatly worried everyone in the room. Before anything else could be said, Medic darted to the scene with the rest of the team trailing behind him. Medic knelt down next to Scout and rubbed his back gently. Scout tensed up and clung to Red tighter upon Medic's touch, causing the doctor to remove his hand and frown deeply. He lifted his head up to look at Red.

"Vhat happened?" he asked. Red frowned deeply, giving Medic a helpless look.

"I don't know," he replied, his own voice beginning to waver a bit. "Dell and I found him unconscious in here, and when he woke up, he just broke down into what you're seeing now. He won't tell us anything. All we know is that Bane was here because of the sapper on Dell's dispenser."

"I see…" Medic looked at Scout once more, then leaned in a bit to speak in Red's ear in a low voice. "I'm going to have to sedate him and do a full body examination on him, and I vill need your help vith zhis." Red nodded. He eyed Medic pulling out some medicine and a syringe from his bag he brought with him. Red leaned back slightly, placing a hand on Scout's head.

"Danny, I need you to look at me," he said soothingly. Scout lifted his head, calming his crying down a bit, though his tears continued to flow freely down his face. Red placed both hands on Scout's face gently and he wiped away his tears as more fell. "Medic's going to give you something to make you fall asleep for a little while. When you wake up, you're going to be in the infirmary, and I'm going to be right there with you. Okay?" Scout just nodded slightly. "I need you to keep your eyes on me. Everything's going to be fine. You're going to be okay." As Red continued to say calming words to his son, Medic carefully took Scout's arm, cleaned the area that he needed and administered the shot. Scout tensed slightly, then began to relax. He leaned forward into his father and eventually fell asleep. Red kissed the top of Scout's head, hugged him once more, then slowly stood up, carrying his sleeping son.

Soldier sighed deeply, running a hand through his short hair. He walked over to Red and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a comforting look. Red simply nodded at the veteran. Soldier then turned around to face the rest of the team.

"Pyro and Demo: you two search the western half of the base for any signs of that Spy!" he ordered loudly. "Heavy, Spy and Sniper: You guys take the eastern half! When you're all done, meet back at the infirmary! Engie: you're going to help me escort these three to the infirmary and be on the lookout! You all know your orders, now hop to it!"


	27. A Cry for Help

_Author's Note: Still loving the wonderful reviews, guys! Thank you! And I see some speculation going on again about various things. I won't say if you're right or not, though; you'll have to wait for that specific chapter to answer everything!_

_Also, on-time update, yay!_

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Chapter 27 - A Cry for Help

The team searched every nook and cranny of the base for Bane. Unfortunately, Bane was nowhere to be found. Having finished searching their parts of the base, Spy, Sniper, Heavy, Pyro and Demo met up outside of the infirmary, where Soldier and Engineer waited in the hallway in front of the door. After Engineer Spy Checked everyone present, Soldier faced the rest of the team.

"Any luck?" he asked.

"Nyet," replied Heavy. "No sign of enemy Spy in base." Soldier nodded, then sighed.

"I don't know about the rest of you men, but I don't think I can go back to sleep tonight. Not after what happened." Heavy narrowed his eyes.

"I will _crush_ disgusting Spy!"

"Mht ah mhnnh mhght hmm mn fhmm!" he whined through his mask. Engineer crossed his arms.

"Sorry, boys, but I think Red's earned the right to kill that son-of-a-bitch," announced Engineer. The entire team looked at him. "I don't know if any of you are fathers, but I know that if someone had hurt my daughter, I'd take him out back and shoot his brains out for even touching her. I'm sure Red wants to do the same thing to Bane for what that snake did to his son." Sniper pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes tightly.

"I feel bloody 'orrible for what 'appened," he groaned. "One of us should've stayed awake." Engineer glared at him.

"You're damn right, Sniper!" he scolded. "You and Spy should've known better than to have both of you sleeping at the same time with that psycho running loose!" Soldier glared at the two.

"I know that Scout snuck out on his own, but Engineer is right!" he added. "Depending on the extent of the damage done to Scout will determine what kind of punishment you two get!" Spy and Sniper lowered their heads in shame. The banter in the hallway was interrupted when the infirmary door opened with Red standing in the doorway. The entire team quickly turned to face him.

"How is he?" asked Engineer. Red gave them all a tired look, but he looked a little better than he did earlier.

"He wasn't physically harmed," he stated. "Bane didn't…" He took a moment to compose himself. The entire team sighed in relief as Engineer placed a hand on Red's shoulder, squeezing a bit to let him know that he didn't have to continue. Engineer frowned.

"So what happened to him?" he questioned. It was Red's turn to frown.

"We still don't know. Danny hasn't woken up yet."

"Can we see Tiny Scout?" pleaded Heavy. Red smiled slightly.

"I think he'd appreciate the company when he wakes up," he answered. "Please, come in." Red stepped out of the way and opened the door further, letting the rest of the team in. Spy and Sniper couldn't bear to look at Red as they entered; they were too ashamed for what they had allowed to happen. They did manage to lift their heads enough to look at the sleeping Scout. Red made his way back to his son's side, brushing some hair off of his forehead gently. Medic finished putting his supplies away and joined the rest of the team at Scout's other side.

"I must advise everyone to be cautious of vhat you say and do around Scout," announced Medic. "Vhatever Scout vent zhrough tonight traumatized him enough to shy away from my touch vhen I initially checked him in zhe training room. Do not – I repeat – do NOT do anyzhing zhat he doesn't feel comfortable vith. If he does not feel comfortable talking about vhat happened, do not press zhe matter further. Do not touch him unless he makes zhe initial contact. Zhe only exception is vith Red. It vill take time for his vounds to heal, and he vill need to go at his own pace. If any of you do not comply with zhese instructions, I vill _personally_ make sure it does not happen again. Do we have an understanding?" The entire team nodded, visibly uncomfortable with Medic's threat. Soldier glanced at Red.

"Hey, um…Red?" he asked. Red despairingly look at him. "I know we switch locations in two days, and you have to return to your team, but…during ceasefire, you're welcome to come visit Scout whenever you'd like." Red managed a slight smile.

"Thank you, Soldier," he said gratefully. "If I may ask…when we transfer to the next base, could I stay with him?"

"Affirmative." Red's smile grew a little more. He quickly turned his head to look at Scout, who let out a moan as he began to stir. Red gently took Scout's hand into both of his and squeezed gently as Scout's eyes fluttered open. Red looked worriedly at his son.

"Danny, it's me. How are you feeling?" Scout slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He blinked a few times when he noticed the entire team in the room. He suddenly felt nervous with all of their eyes on him. Red placed an arm around Scout's shoulders and rubbed his arm caringly. "Don't worry, they've all been Spy Checked. They were worried about you and wanted to see you." Scout frowned, lowering his head as he hugged his knees to his chest. Spy stepped forward, followed by Sniper.

"Danny," began Spy. Scout lifted his eyes to look at him. "I am so…so sorry I failed to protect you."

"I am, too," added Sniper. "One of us should 'ave been awake t'go with you." Scout lowered his eyes, feeling ashamed. Spy's frown deepened.

"May we…ask why you went by yourself?" Medic gave him a warning glare, which made Spy cringe a bit. Spy felt worse when Scout merely shook his head and buried his face into his knees, taking a deep breath and exhaling shakily. Spy and Sniper looked utterly heartbroken as they saw the state that the one they loved was in. As Soldier walked in front of the two and faced them with the scariest glare the two had ever seen come from him, they stood their ground, ready to meet their fate.

"I think I've finally decided on the punishment you two are going to get." he growled at them. Before he could speak further, he felt a hand grab the back of his shirt. He turned around and looked down at Scout, who was holding onto his shirt as he kept his head lowered. "Scout, what's wrong?"

"Don't punish them," he pleaded. "If anyone should be getting penalized, it should be me." Soldier's eyes widened in shock with the rest of the team's. "I was the one who went around the base alone. I went against your orders. Jack and Theo didn't do anything wrong. I'm ready to take whatever punishment you're willing to give." Soldier placed his hands gently on Scout's shoulders. He was inwardly happy that Scout didn't try to shy away from him but equally distraught over Scout's behavior.

"Scout, that's enough," he calmly ordered. "You've been through what nobody – man or woman – should ever have to experience. Whatever happened to you wasn't your fault." Scout looked Soldier in the eye, fighting the urge to cry again. Soldier noticed this and rubbed Scout's head. "Whatever you're holding back, don't be afraid to let it out. It's okay. We're all here for you." Scout's lip began to quiver as the tears he had been holding back began to stream down his cheeks.

"Why me, Solly?" he sobbed. "He doesn't even really care about the mission anymore…"

"You're not making any sense."

"Bane! He's no longer after me because of Dad!" The entire team looked horrified when Scout said that. Despite being nearly hysterical, Scout continued. "He showed up just to see me! He's obsessed! He's always watching me, no matter where I'm at or who I'm with! I can't…I can't even have any privacy knowing that! He's probably even watching me right now!"

"Scout," began Medic calmly, "zhere are no windows in zhe infirmary, even on zhe door. Ve have inspected zhis room. Bane is novhere in zhe room or zhe base." Medic's words didn't help in calming Scout down. Scout buried his face into his hands, sobbing harder. Soldier stepped back a bit as Red pulled his son into a comforting embrace. Scout clung to Red's shirt and buried his face into his chest. Red rocked him back and forth gently.

"Shh, sh-sh-shh, it's okay," he spoke softly. Scout looked up at his father.

"He…he said that The Administrator promised me to him once you were out of the picture…" Red began to shake slightly, visibly shocked. "I-I-I don't want to lose you, Dad! I don't want to go with him!"

"That bitch…!" hissed Red. He calmed himself down and stroked Scout's cheek, wiping away some of his tears, looking him in the eyes with as confident of an expression as he could muster. "That's not going to happen because I don't plan on going anywhere."

"I…just…I…I-uh…" Scout began trembling as he stammered, which greatly worried everyone in the room. They all knew that Scout was terrified – they had known for quite some time since the whole situation with Bane and The Administrator started. They also knew that he had been holding back and hiding a lot of his fears from everyone. All of that build-up, coupled with what happened in the training room earlier, finally caught up with their youngest teammate and it was showing. They were somewhat relieved that he was finally getting everything he had been holding back off of his chest while simultaneously feeling upset themselves about Scout's predicament and helplessness for not knowing how to fully help him other than to kill Bane. Their hearts broke when they saw Scout hug Red as tightly as he could as he buried his face into Red's chest and heard the words that he cried as he broke down once more. "Help me…!"

"I'm here, Kiddo." He rubbed Scout's back comfortingly as he kissed the top of his head. He hugged his son just as tightly. "I'm not letting you out of my sight until this guy has been dealt with."

"What if that crazy lady sends more guys like him?" questioned Demoman. Scout whimpered, squeezing the back of Red's shirt tight enough to pull it taught. Engineer smacked Demoman in the back of the head. "Ow! What! It's a legitimate question!"

"That's not helping right now!" Red glared at Demoman.

"That's not going to be an issue because I plan on ending this. The first chance I get, I'm confronting Helen and settling this once and for all!"

"You just said that you weren't going to take Scout of your sights. Wouldn't having him with you when you do this cause him more pain?" Scout pulled back slightly from his father and calmed down a bit, wiping his eyes and taking a few quick, deep breaths. He looked at Engineer.

"I want to confront her, too, for putting Dad through all of this," confessed Scout. "I want to fight at Dad's side. He's helped me get through so much this past week and made sure I wasn't alone. It's…It's my turn to do the same for him." Red looked down at Scout.

"Danny, you're going through enough as it is. Besides, this is my battle, not yours." Scout looked his father in the eyes.

"It's _our_ battle, Dad. She made it ours when she tricked me into killing that guy. I just…I want this all to be done. I wanna go home…" Red ran his hand through Scout's hair lovingly.

"I know, Son. I do, too. But you're my main priority right now. I'm not doing anything until I know that you're okay and that Bane is gone for good."

"When we finally get him, Red," began Engineer, grabbing Red's attention, "I'll switch off the respawn barrier so you can finally give him a permanent death. We all talked about it, and we want you to have the honors of killing him as a father." Red smirked slightly.

"Excellent, because I've been plotting ways of making him suffer for all that he's done." He looked down at Scout, who was resting his head against Red's chest and staring down with his eyes at the blanket covering his lap. "However, I won't utter a word as to what's going through my mind right now in current company." He rubbed Scout's back again. "Are you feeling any better, Danny?"

"Not really, but…I'll be okay."

"Take as much time as you need to recover from zhis, Herr Scout," stated Medic. "Ve need you in order to succeed." Scout gave Medic a confused look.

"You…don't see me as a burden anymore?" Medic frowned.

"Vhen I said zhat, I vas angry about losing and took my anger out on you. Vhat I did vas wrong, and I am sorry. It was not my intention to make you doubt yourself." Scout pursed his lips together in an attempt to simultaneously smile and keep from crying once more. Medic, instead, smiled for him. "You don't have to say anyzhing. You do, however, look tired and should get some rest." Scout answered with a giant yawn, snuggling up against his father. Red smiled slightly, kissing his forehead as he sat down on the edge of the bed next to Scout.

"Get some sleep, Danny. I'll be right here when you wake up." Scout yawned once more and felt his eyelids droop. As Red watched his son quickly fall asleep in his arms, Soldier walked up and grabbed Scout's blanket, bringing it up to bring some warmth to Scout's small frame. Red reached around his back to grab one of the corners of the blanket to wrap around himself, but Engineer beat him to the punch and placed another blanket around his shoulders. Red gave him an expression of thanks, not wanting to wake Scout up with his voice. The Texan leaned in to speak in Red's ear.

"I'm going to build a sentry outside of the infirmary door and stay nearby, so you get some sleep, too, Red," he stated. Engineer faced the rest of the team. "We should all try to get some sleep. We still have a match tomorrow." Everyone nodded and began to slowly file out of the infirmary. Soldier pouted as he left.

"Dammit, that was my line!" he complained.

Spy and Sniper were the last two to leave. They stopped in the doorway, solemnly looked over their shoulders at Scout, then glanced guiltily at each other. Once they shut the door behind them, they walked back toward Scout's room together.

"We've got t'do something t'make it up t'Danny for our failure," said Sniper. Spy nodded in agreement.

"We'll figure something out in the morning," he replied. "For now, we should attempt to get some rest."

"I don't think I'm going t'be able t'get any sleep tonight. Are you?"

"No."

"So…should we figure it out tonight, instead?" Spy thought about it as he opened the door to Scout's bedroom, holding it open for Sniper. He shut the door behind himself once they entered the room.

"I think that's in order."


	28. Warning

_Author's Note: Another on-time update! The next one will definitely be on-time, too, since I'll be updating it on my birthday, and it's one of my favorite chapters!_

_I've been re-reading through the past chapters, and there were some typos and grammatical mistakes that I missed. I've gone back to correct them. If you guys find anymore, please let me know so I can correct them._

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Chapter 28 - Warning

Red quickly awoke, not realizing that he had nodded off. He wanted to stay awake to keep an eye on his son, but exhaustion had taken over his body and forced him into slumber. He looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was almost seven o'clock in the morning.

"I slept much longer than I intended," he uttered to himself. He looked down at Scout, who was sound asleep in his embrace. Considering how much of a light sleeper he was and realizing that he hadn't been awoken at all during the night, Red figured that Scout managed to sleep well despite everything that happened. He kissed the top of Scout's head gently, which caused the boy to slowly awaken. Scout yawned and looked up at Red, who smiled tenderly at him. "Morning, Kiddo. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, thanks," he answered, yawning once more. "What time is it?"

"Almost seven." Red frowned. "You have a match today. I don't think Soldier would be upset if you skipped it." Scout shook his head.

"I want to fight. I think…having some kind of normalcy will help me." Red nodded slightly.

"I understand," he sighed, running a hand through his graying hair. He really didn't want Scout to go out fighting that day and expose himself to danger, but if his son was anything like him, he was stubborn and wouldn't take no for an answer. He pondered for a moment before looking back at Scout. "I'm not really happy about you going out there, but…I'll tell you what: stick by Dell today. If you get sent back to respawn, I'll escort you back to him so I know you get back there safely. Does that sound okay to you?" Scout nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Scout looked down at his dog tags that were hanging around his neck and took them into his hand. He rubbed his thumb over the faded, illegible letters that, he assumed, used to be his father's name on the tags. He stared silently for a few moments before speaking up once more. "Hey…Dad?"

"Yes, Danny?"

"I just…I wanted to thank you for last night." Red hugged Danny close.

"You don't need to thank me. You're my son, Danny. It's my job to be there for you when you need me there. I'm just sorry I couldn't be there for you growing up."

"I understand why, Dad, and I'm not mad about it anymore." Red ruffled Scout's hair a bit.

"I've noticed something these past two weeks." Scout gave him a curious look. "Your speech…you've been speaking more like an adult than a Bostonian street thug like you used to." Scout blinked.

"My Boston accent's still there, right?"

"Of course." Scout breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, good. I don't ever want to get rid of that!" Red laughed, messing up Scout's already messy hair further. Scout flailed his hands to bat his father's away as he went to fix his hair. Red's laughter died, though, when he realized that Scout didn't laugh back. He frowned, realizing that it may be a while before he could see his son's smile or hear the sound of his laughter again. His inner musings were interrupted when Soldier opened the door and walked in, a strained look on his face.

"Soldier, what's wrong?" asked Red.

"We're leaving today for Coldfront." Red and Scout's jaws dropped at the news.

"What!" they cried out simultaneously.

"Apparently there's a massive storm heading this way overnight," explained Soldier. "It's supposed to be worse than the ones we've had since we got here. This storm could prevent us from getting out of here for quite some time, which means no food or supplies can get to us. The Administrator felt it was best to get us out of here when we had a good window of opportunity."

"Since when has she cared about our safety?" questioned Red suspiciously. Soldier shrugged.

"You can ask her yourself. She wants to have a word with the two of you in the conference room. You might want to hurry and get over there. Don't worry about packing, Scout; Engie's gathering your things as we speak." Scout looked at Red worriedly.

"Why does she want to talk to us?" he enquired. Red narrowed his eyes.

"I don't know, but I've been meaning to have a word with her, too. Let's go."

When Red and Scout arrived in the conference room, they saw The Administrator's image on the screen, tapping her fingers impatiently on the arm of her chair.

"It's about time you two got here," she stated. "I was about to grow old in this chair with how long you took."

"Cut the crap, Helen!" hissed Red. "Why did you want to speak with us?"

"Temper, temper, Leon," she warned, wagging her finger. Scout looked at Red.

"Your name's Leon?" he asked. Red gave him a quick nod before facing Helen once more.

"The reason I brought you two in here," she began, "was to inform you of Bane's termination from TF Industries." Scout blinked in surprise.

"He's dead?"

"Hardly. The instant he shows his face, though, he's a dead man. I fired him for his recent insubordination by visiting and falling for the target – you – without prior permission. His orders were to simply capture you, Daniel, and kill anyone else who was plotting against me. What he did to you overstepped the terms of his contract and was not intended to happen. Anything he said or did to you was not authorized."

"Even the part where he claimed you promised me to him?" Helen merely nodded. "So…you're apologizing?" She smirked.

"I never apologize for anything. I've actually been quite amused watching Leon squirm and emotionally deteriorate the way he has as he watched you suffer. A fitting punishment for a traitor, if I do say so myself." Red slammed his hands on the table angrily.

"Who the hell gave you the right to drag my son into this!" he roared. "What makes you think that it's okay to condone the sexual abuse he's suffered! If you have some kind of grudge with me, bring it up with me! Leave Danny and the others out of this!"

"Watch your tone with me!" she threatened. "All of your insurrections will be taken out on your son if you keep this up!" Red clenched his fists tight enough to turn his knuckles white. He relaxed slightly when Scout placed his hand on top of his father's right fist. Helen narrowed her eyes. "Now, in light of everything that has happened, I must warn you that Bane is out there somewhere. If he shows his face, anything that he does is of his own free will and not of my doing."

"But our transfer to Coldfront a day early is of your doing. There's no storm coming, despite what you told Soldier. Am I correct?"

"I was intending on sending you all there a day early anyway in order to disrupt the little plan you and your little cohorts concocted yesterday." Red tensed up. Helen grinned. "Don't think I only rely on the cameras around the bases to intercept communications of that nature. Relay this message to everyone on RED and BLU: everyone is to cease and desist these mutinous stratagems. Failure to do so will result in severe repercussions administered to my designated whipping boy." Helen looked directly at Scout as she finished her warning, narrowing her eyes. Red's eyes widened in shock as he looked at his son, who was staring at Helen with an equally shocked expression. Helen smirked evilly. "I hope you have a safe train ride."

"Helen, wait!" cried out Red as The Administrator cut off all communications. Red slammed his fist onto the table. "Dammit!" He looked over at Scout once more, seeing that he was still staring at the blank screen in utter shock. "Danny?" Silence. "Danny?"

"I don't feel so good…" groaned Scout as brought a hand up to his eyes and covered them, swaying a bit. Red quickly rushed over and caught Scout as he lost consciousness.

"DANNY!" he screamed. The door leading into the conference room quickly swung open as Soldier and Engineer rushed in. Engineer placed a hand on Scout's forehead.

"He's not running a fever or anything," he noted. He looked at Red's fretting expression. "Solly and I heard everything through the door. I think the poor boy fainted from shock." Soldier glared at Engineer.

"Men don't faint!" he corrected. "They pass out!" Soldier's expression softened as Scout opened his eyes. Scout looked at everyone in the room, frowning.

"S-sorry, guys," he apologized. Red hugged him close.

"Don't apologize," he said assuredly. "Are you okay?" Scout just nodded. "Can you stand?" Scout nodded again as he regained his footing, using Red as a support. Once he balanced himself, he let go and stood on his own. Engineer crossed his arms.

"I hate to rush you guys, but the train's leaving in about a half an hour," he announced. Scout sighed as he and Red followed Soldier and Engineer to Scout's room. "I packed up all of your belongings and put a change of clothes on the bed for you, Scout. After you change clothes, double check to make sure I got everything."

"Thanks, Engie," sighed Scout, frowning.

* * *

Once they arrived, Red and Scout entered his room. Scout changed in his bathroom while Red conducted a final sweep-through of the room. Satisfied that nothing was left behind, he sat down on the bed to wait for his son. He glanced at the open bag on the bed and saw a small picture frame protruding from the opening. He pulled it out and stared at the picture in the frame: a photograph of Scout with his mother and seven brothers at Scout's high school graduation. Red smiled sadly at it, tracing his thumb lightly over the frame. How he wish he could have watched his son grow up. How he longed to have been able to have witnessed his first steps, his first words, his first day of school, his first baseball game, and his graduation. Scout's mother had written to him constantly giving him updates on what Scout had done, but it wasn't the same as physically being there. He felt a small tear come to his eye. He wiped it away with the back of his index finger.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't hear Scout open the door and walk in, ready to get on the train. Scout quietly walked over to Red and sat down next to him, looking at the photograph.

"Looking at Ma?" he asked. Red yelped as he jumped back on the bed, nearly dropping the picture frame.

"Holy crap, Danny!" he shrieked. "Don't startle me like that!" Scout smirked slightly.

"You're starting to sound like me, Dad," he teased lightly. Red blinked a bit, then laughed slightly, scratching his right temple with his index finger. "You even have the same nervous twitches I do!"

"I guess we've rubbed off on each other over such a small period of time." Red looked once more at the photograph, smiling again. "Such a lovely family…"

"One that you're going to be a part of eventually," reminded Scout. Red frowned.

"Do you really think she'll say 'yes'?" he asked quietly. "We've been romantically involved for nineteen years, and most of it has been through the letters we've written back-and-forth. I've kept her waiting for so long…"

"Dad," started Scout, "I know Mom. If she hasn't turned you away after all this time, she's not going to ever." Red smiled slightly at his son, then glanced down at the photograph once more. Scout looked at the photograph and started pointing out his different brothers. "That's David. He's the oldest. He works as an accountant for the law firm that Joseph, the second oldest, is a partner at." He pointed to Joseph in the picture, then moved his finger to another one of the brothers. "Gabe's the third oldest. He teaches eighth grade at the middle school we all used to go to." He pointed to two identical looking young men. "Ben and Chris, the twins, are seniors in college. Chris is studying biochemistry while Ben's studying psychology. They both go to UMass Boston." He finally pointed at the final brother standing next to Scout in the picture. "And that's Andy. He's two years older than I am. He joined the military after he graduated. He's a pilot in the Air Force." Red smiled tenderly.

"Eight bright, talented young men. I know your mother must be proud of all of you." Scout frowned slightly.

"I just hope I can measure up to them someday." Red put an arm around Scout's shoulders.

"I know you will. You're still young. I've seen you mature and grow in such a short amount of time, so I have no doubt you will do great things once we get out of this Hell-hole." Scout nodded slightly.

"Thanks, Dad," he said softly. He took the picture from Red and packed it up. Once he zipped his bag shut, he swung it over his shoulder and stood up with his father.

"Ready to go?" asked Red. Scout frowned again.

"Not really. I'm worried about the train ride. Did you hear how The Administrator was talking about it? She sounded evil! I have a really bad feeling about this." Red scowled.

"Your bad feelings have usually turned out to be correct. I just hope you're wrong about this one."


	29. Train Ride from Hell

_Author's Note: Today's my birthday, woo hoo! My birthday gift to you is an on-time update with one of my favorite chapters! This one's pretty epic, so brace yourselves!_

* * *

Chapter 29 – Train Ride From Hell

The train consisted of four cars: the tank engine, two passenger cars – one for RED and one for BLU – and the caboose, which stored supplies and an imprisoned RED Sniper. The RED team's car was nestled between the caboose and the BLU car in front of them. The entire team had been brought up to speed by BLU's Soldier as to what transpired overnight and during the morning hours before their departure. The whole team was on edge, wondering if Bane had snuck onto the train and whether or not he'd try to free their traitorous teammate. Each member of RED would take a turn every fifteen minutes to peek into the caboose and see if Sniper was still where he should be.

Scout, Demoman, Engineer, Heavy and Medic were playing a game of Texas Hold'em to kill the time. Pyro volunteered to be the dealer while Soldier spectated, keeping an eye on the time and announcing when it was time to inspect the caboose. Heavy started the round.

"I will play this one," he announced, calling in two $100 chips.

"Ditto on that one," agreed Demoman, placing his chips down. Scout wrinkled his nose.

"Yeeeeeahno," he said, pushing his cards away from him. Medic nodded.

"I vill call," he stated, placing one chip down. Engineer tapped his fingers on the table.

"Checking," he uttered. Pyro dealt out the first three cards of the match. Engineer pushed away his cards with a disgusted look on his face. "As Scout would say, 'that was a craptastic hand'." Heavy angrily forced his cards away from him.

"These cards are making me angry!" he growled. Demoman took a swig of his drink before pushing his cards away.

"No!" he hissed. Medic made a face.

"I fold, too," he sighed. Scout cocked an eyebrow.

"We folded to you, Doc," he explained. "You won the hand." Medic blinked.

"I did?" Everyone nodded. Medic raised his fists up into the air. "Woo hoo!"

"Doctor, that was adorable!" laughed Heavy.

"That was a little creepy, if you ask me," disagreed Scout.

"Things will be even creepier if Sniper's gone!" added Soldier. "Scout! It's your turn!" Scout grumbled as he got up, walking toward the caboose. He looked through the window of the back door into the window of the caboose door. His eyes widened when he saw only rope on the box that Sniper had been sitting on with no sign of the man.

"Uh, Soldier?" he cried out. "Things just got creepier!" Soldier ran over to Scout and saw what Scout was pointing at.

"I'll warn the BLUs! Heavy: check inside of the caboose! The rest of you: be on your guard!" Heavy got up and went to the back door where Scout was at. He attempted to open the door, but it was locked from the outside.

"I cannot open door!" yelled the hulking Russian.

"Can't you break down the door, man!" screeched Scout.

"It is not advisable with fast-moving train!" Scout looked over at Soldier, who was having the same problem with his door.

"Any luck, Soldier?" questioned Medic.

"Negatory!" spat Soldier. "This one's also locked from the outside! Someone must have locked the doors when we weren't paying attention and doesn't want us helping the BLUs!" Scout and Demoman looked at each other, speaking simultaneously.

"Danny!"

* * *

The BLU's car was uncharacteristically silent. Most of the team had fallen asleep, exhausted from their sleepless night. The only ones who were awake were Spy, Sniper, Scout, Red and Medic. Medic would occasionally get up and walk around, checking on his teammates. Spy and Sniper were quietly conversing with each other towards the front of the car. Red and Scout sat in the back. Red was staring out the window, admiring the scenery while pondering the recent turn of events. Scout was quietly reading a book, trying to take his mind off of things.

Spy and Sniper stood up after a while and made their way to the back of the car. Scout and Red looked up from what they were doing at the two.

"What's up, guys?" asked Scout. The boy frowned at the downtrodden looks on his friends' faces. He suddenly lowered his eyes. "Listen, I…I'm sorry I snuck out and didn't tell you guys where I was going last night."

"Danny, we're not mad about that," assured Sniper. "We just don't understand why you did it."

"I couldn't sleep. I needed to clear my mind, and running's the best way for me to do that. I know I should've woken one of you guys up, but…I couldn't get either of you two off of my mind, and that's what was causing my sleeplessness. I'm sorry." Spy squatted down so he was looking up at Scout, placing his hands on the arm of the seat.

"I know things haven't been easy as of late," he began, "and I know Sniper and I have been contributing to that, and for that, we apologize. But please try to understand that all of us here are concerned for your safety and well-being. Please don't scare us like that again." Scout looked Spy in the eyes, then up at Sniper, who nodded lightly in agreement. Scout looked back down at Spy and gently placed a hand on top of his, smiling slightly.

"I'll try not to, Theo," he replied. "So…we're cool? All three of us?" Sniper ruffled Scout's hair playfully.

"Of course, you little ankle biter," he teased. All three men chuckled, which brought a smile to Red's face as he observed the scene from his seat. The laughter stopped as soon as they heard a thud toward the front of the car and a slew of German curses emitting from the fallen Medic. Sniper rushed over to the doctor, helping him sit up. "Medic! What 'appened?" Medic held his bleeding nose.

"I tripped and hit mein dose on zhe seat," he groaned. Sniper pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to Medic, who began to try and get the bleeding to stop. Sniper looked over his shoulder.

"Spy, could you go into th'bathroom and get a wet paper towel?" Spy nodded and made his way into the closed off part of the car in the back. Scout got up and made his way to Sniper and Medic, kneeling down in front of them.

"You okay, Doc?" he asked worriedly. "Your nose ain't broken, is it?" Medic carefully felt it, wincing a bit as he did so.

"Ja, it is," he hissed in pain. Scout stood up.

"I'll see if I can get you some ice for that."

"Danke, Herr Scout." Scout smiled slightly. His caring expression quickly turned into one of horror as he heard Spy scream from the back. He whipped himself around and saw the door in the back get kicked open, waking up the rest of the team and putting them on full alert. RED's Sniper entered the car with an angered look, restraining Spy in front of him with his Tribalman's Shiv held to Spy's throat.

"Nobody move, or I slit 'is bloody throat!" threatened RED's Sniper. "'ands where I can see them!" Everyone raised their hands above their heads carefully. RED's Sniper nodded in satisfaction, then turned his attention to Scout. "You: get to the front of the car."

"Danny, don't!" cried out Spy. Spy's captor growled lightly and dug the blade into Spy's neck enough to draw blood. Scout looked around at everyone, obviously panicking. A strained expression formed on his face as he sighed in defeat.

"Sorry, guys…" he apologized as he backed up toward the front of the car. The Sniper made his way to the front with Spy, keeping an eye on everyone. Red watched his son with a helpless look in his eyes. Once RED's Sniper was standing next to Scout, he pulled the knife away from Spy's neck and slammed the hilt of the weapon into Spy's temple hard enough to draw blood and knock Spy out. Scout gasped in fear as he witnessed his injured friend being tossed away. "THEO!"

"C'mon, you runt!" commanded the Sniper. He roughly grabbed Scout, opened the door and quickly exited with the boy before anyone had a chance to move. He slammed the door shut, locking it from the outside. Red darted to the front door and roughly tried to open it, but to no avail.

"Danny!" he shouted. He slammed the sides of his fists into the door. "DANNY!" Engineer pulled him back, trying to calm him down.

"Red, get a hold of yourself!" he ordered. "We'll find a way into the front, don't worry!" Red pulled out his disguise kit and pulled out a thin wire. He knelt down in front of the door and began to try and pick the lock as Engineer attended to the bleeding Spy on the floor.

* * *

RED's Sniper pushed Scout into the tank engine and closed the door behind himself, locking it. After wrestling with Scout for a bit, he managed to force Scout's back against a support pole, tying his hands behind it. After getting over the initial shock of everything, Scout noticed that there was no conductor. Seeing as how the train was still moving, he assumed the train was self-operating or remotely controlled by an outside source. He glared hatefully at Sniper.

"Why did you bring me in here!" he demanded. "We're all going to the same destination!" Sniper kept his back turned to Scout as he stood toward the front of the car with his arms crossed, remaining silent. "Answer me!"

"You'd better keep your mouth shut, kid," threatened Sniper. "Your buddies can't get in 'ere since they're trapped in their own cars, so you might as well get comfortable where you are."

"Why are you even helping The Administrator? What's she bribing you with?" Sniper glanced over his shoulder at Scout.

"'elen and I are involved with each other," he explained calmly. "We 'ave been for quite some time." Scout made a disgusted face. Sniper chose to ignore it and continued. "When your father joined RED, she asked me t'join t'keep an eye on 'im. She was still obsessed with making 'im suffer, waiting for you to turn eighteen so she could get you to join BLU and have you constantly try t'kill 'im. She figured having the love child of the one 'e left 'er for kill 'im repeatedly in these matches was a fitting punishment for 'im. I, personally, just want to see th'bastard die for what 'e did to'er."

"What are you talking about?"

"'e cheated on 'er and left 'er for a younger woman. 'e ripped 'er heart t'shreds without so much as showing any kind of remorse."

"But that was almost nineteen years ago! Shouldn't she have gotten over that by now!"

"Some scars never 'eal, kid."

"Then she needs to get some help or somethin'! That ain't healthy!" Sniper glared hatefully at Scout, slowly advancing on him.

"If 'elen wants 'im t'suffer…" he started, his intimidating aura causing Scout to grow extremely nervous, "…then I think 'e should watch you die a permanent death right in front of 'im!" Before Sniper could get too close to Scout, he jumped out of the way of the side door being kicked off of its hinges toward him. Swinging in from the top of the car was none other than Bane. Scout's eyes widened in horror.

"Bane?" he shrieked. Sniper stood up and whipped out his knife, leering at Bane.

"Why th'bloody 'ell are you 'ere!" he roared. "You were fired!"

"I came for Daniel," Bane stated, his open purple suit jacket flowing in the cold winter's wind blowing in from the opening. He pulled out his butterfly knife as he and Sniper began to circle each other. "In case you haven't noticed up ahead, we're quickly approaching a bridge over a canyon with a metal beam from the top of it angled at eye level with the train! I don't care about the rest of you on this train, but I'm getting Daniel off of it before you all die!" Sniper and Scout looked out the windshield and spotted the upcoming hazard. Sniper just stared, frozen in shock. As Sniper was distracted, Bane cut Scout's ropes. Scout quickly ducked down and elbowed Bane in the gut as hard as he could, causing the man to double over in pain and grip the pole for balance as he regained his composure. Scout ran to the brake and tried to pull back on it, struggling. Sniper saw what Scout was going to do and pushed him away.

"What the'ell are you doing!" he scolded. Scout stood his ground, glaring at Sniper as he masked the terror he felt welling up inside of him.

"That beam looks like it's strategically placed!" he bluffed. To be honest, he wasn't sure if it was or not, but if he could trick Sniper into pulling on the brake, everyone on board would survive. "It was probably your girlfriend's doing to kill us all! She knew you were on board this train and she's willing to let you die with us to get what she wants! Are you still willing to defend her!" Sniper gave Scout a conflicted look. Looking at the hazard ahead once more, Sniper grabbed the brake and began to pull. He glanced at Scout as he struggled with it.

"'elp me out 'ere!" he ordered. Scout nodded and grabbed the brake, helping him pull. Bane regained his composure and saw what was going on. He decided to grab the brake and help them out. With their combined effort, they managed to get the brake lever to pull back all the way, slowing the train down. It wasn't slowing down fast enough as the metal beam grew larger and larger by the second. Impact with the beam was imminent, and there was nothing they could do; they knew the beam was going to go through the windshield. Bane tackled Scout to the ground and held him protectively, covering his head while Sniper dove out of the way. The train came to a stop as the beam rammed through the windshield and went through the door, causing all three men to scream.

Sniper slowly stood up after he calmed himself down, coming to terms with not dying. He stared at the damage done to the car wide-eyed. Had Helen really ordered this? Did she really not care about him dying all for the sake of her mission? Did she not hold feelings for him at all? Was she just…using him? He stared down at Bane, who lifted his upper body a bit with his arms, resting his lower arms on the ground and using them to support his weight. Scout looked up at Bane, still in shock from what happened. Bane smirked.

"I'm glad you're okay, Daniel," he said in a relieved voice. Scout was amazed that Bane cared about him enough to risk his own life to protect him. He then began to freak out, realizing the position he was in with Bane on top of him. Bane decided to take advantage of the situation and leaned in for a kiss. He quickly pulled back before he could get one as Scout screamed in terror, struggling wildly. Bane held him tightly, trying to calm him down so he didn't hurt himself. "Hey! HEY! Stop struggling!"

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" screamed Scout. His pleas for help were granted as the heavily damaged door of the BLU car was busted down with Red, Sniper, Soldier and RED's Demoman and Engineer rushing into the car. Sniper and Soldier forced Bane off of Scout while Red pulled his hysterical son away from the scene, embracing him tightly. Demoman and Engineer roughly grabbed their Sniper and restrained his hands behind his back. They were surprised that Sniper offered no resistance to the actions, instead staring blankly at the scene before him as he had before.

Bane fought off BLU's Sniper and Soldier, knocking them to the ground. He ran to the exit on the side of the car and looked over his shoulder at Scout.

"Daniel!" he shouted. Scout mustered enough courage to look at Bane, clinging tightly to his father. Bane smirked, winking. "You're welcome."

"Bane, get back here!" shouted Red angrily. Bane ignored Red's orders and hopped of the train, making his escape. Red looked back down at Scout and held him close as the boy trembled both from fear and from the cold sweeping into the car. Red rocked him back and forth gently, trying to calm his sobbing. "Shh, It's okay. I've got you. It's all over," he spoke soothingly to Scout, kissing his temple. Demoman looked over his Sniper's shoulder at the two.

"Is the lad okay?" he inquired. Red just nodded, continuing to whisper calming words to his son. Soldier looked out the now non-existent windshield over the bridge, then at the rest of the ones in the room.

"I see Coldfront on the other side of the bridge," he announced. "This train isn't going anywhere anytime soon. We should grab as many supplies as we can and cross the bridge on foot. We have injured teammates that shouldn't be in this cold for too long."

"I'll alert everyone," volunteered Sniper solemnly. Soldier nodded, allowing Sniper to leave the car. Demoman looked at Engineer, nodding.

"Let's get this bloke back to our car," he suggested.

"Good idea, before he changes his mind about struggling," agreed Engineer. RED's Sniper finally looked at Red.

"Leon," he uttered. Red looked up at his traitorous teammate, confused as to why he called him by his real name. "'elen…she's not as evil as people make 'er out t'be…am I right?" Red narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"She's worse," he replied bitterly. "Anyone who condones what that sick bastard has done and toys with the lives of others for personal gain doesn't deserve to live." Sniper gave him a conflicted look before he was dragged off by his teammates. Red watched his teammate being taken away, pondering his sudden change in behavior. He was ripped from his thoughts when Scout sneezed, snuggling into Red for warmth. Red let go of Scout briefly to take off his suit jacket and put it around Scout, hoping it would warm his small frame up. Scout pulled the jacket around himself tighter, shivering. Red wrapped one of his arms underneath Scout's legs while he kept his other arm around his back. He stood up, picking up Scout in the process. Soldier looked at him and sighed.

"We all seem to be in pretty bad shape right now," he commented. He pulled a scarf out of one of his inner jacket pockets and walked over to the pair, wrapping the scarf around Scout's neck. Scout gave Soldier a confused look, though he was grateful for the extra warmth. Soldier ruffled Scout's hair, giving him a comforting smile. "Don't want you getting sick again. We need you on the battlefield when the matches start again." Scout smiled slightly, exhaustion setting in.

"Thanks, Solly," he said, his voice scratchy from all of the screaming he had done. Soldier smoothed down Scout's hair.

"Get some rest now. We'll be in the safety of the base soon." Scout frowned.

"Theo…"

"Theo's going to be fine," assured Red. "Medic, too." Scout nodded, resting his head on Red's shoulder and closing his eyes. Red and Soldier carefully made their way back into the BLU's car. Red stopped walking as soon as he heard Scout barely speaking above a whisper, his voice straining.

"I'm…sorry…"


	30. Unknown

_Author's Note: I deeply apologize for not updating in a month. I was inundated with papers and final projects. Now that the semester is done, I can get back on a normal updating schedule like before. I hope this chapter makes up for my month-long absence!_

* * *

Chapter 30 - Unknown

Though he promised to return immediately to his team upon their arrival at Coldfront, Red stayed behind with the BLUs to help them move into their base due to three of their teammates being out of commission. Red was even carefully instructed by Medic how to properly bandage up his broken nose. Once he was taken care of, Medic was able to treat Spy's injuries while the man was still unconscious. Red felt it was best to stay out of Medic's way and busied himself with unpacking the rest of Medic's supplies. He would occasionally stop to check on Scout, who was sleeping soundly in one of the beds in the infirmary.

After a few hours, the infirmary was the way Medic wanted it to be and all injuries had been treated. The German walked up to Red, who was checking his son's temperature.

"Is he running a fever?" questioned the doctor. Red shook his head.

"Thankfully no," he answered. Medic had him step aside as he checked Scout over.

"Hmm…no fever, zhe skin is a healthy color…I zhink he vill be fine." Red smiled slightly, though that smile quickly faded.

"Unfortunately, I must return to my base." Medic crossed his arms.

"Zhough you are mein enemy," he began, "I have enjoyed your company and appreciate your help. However, zhat does not mean I vill go easy on you on zhe battlefield." Red smirked.

"Likewise, my friend." His smirk turned into a worried frown. "I'm worried about Danny. I've gotten so used to being close by and helping him when he needs me."

"He has gotten used to having you around, too," agreed Medic. "…vhich is vhy I must suggest zhat you reduce zhe number of visits you intended." Red blinked in surprise. "My vorry is zhat he vill become too dependent on you and everyone else."

"He's been through Hell and back, and you're suggesting that he should be isolated!" Medic quickly quieted Red down.

"Ve don't vant to vake him up!" he hissed. "Now, as I vas saying, if he becomes too dependent on ozhers, he von't learn to be able to stand on his own two feet vhen zhe time comes. I am not suggesting total isolation, but careful, limited interaction vith you, Spy and Sniper." Red frowned deeply. "And, frankly, your performance has been lacking, too. You have become impetuous in your actions, and you have lately tended to leap before you look. Zhat is zhe kind of behavior zhat vill get you killed…permanently."

"I…" Red took a deep breath and sighed heavily, running a hand through his graying hair. "…I guess you do have a point…multiple points. I have become more careless in my actions, but as far as Danny goes, you have to understand that I haven't been there for Danny for eighteen years, and during our two-week bonding time, I can't leave him the way he is now! He still needs me!"

"You may come and visit, but you musn't stay too long…for Scout's sake. You must understand zhat I am only suggesting zhis for his own vell-being and recovery. I am not saying zhese zhings to be cruel." Red lowered his head in defeat.

"…I understand." Medic placed a reassuring hand on Red's shoulder, which caused the Frenchman to look up at him.

"Zhink about zhis: vonce zhe var is over, you vill have much more time to spend vith your son vithout zhe fear of losing him." Red nodded slightly.

"Thank you, Medic. I know Danny is in good hands with BLU. I'll continue to watch over him on the battlefield as I always have, and I'll be sure to bring this war to an end soon."

"I vish you luck in your endeavor, Herr Red. And do not vorry; Scout vill be staying vith Engineer from now on so ve do not have any repeats of last night."

"That does make me feel better. Dell will take good care of him. I trust him with my life, and I trust him with my son's. As for hastening the end to this war, I think I'll begin with interrogating my team's Sniper as soon as I return to the base." Medic nodded confidently. Red walked over to Scout and kissed his temple gently, smoothing down his hair. "Sleep well, Kiddo. I'll see you tomorrow."

Red hesitantly pulled himself away from Scout as he walked with Medic to the infirmary door, still conversing quietly with the German. What neither of them realized was that Scout had been awake the whole time listening to them.

* * *

The RED team was ecstatic for Red's return. Throughout the week's ordeal, though he had not physically been with them, he could tell that his team was more closely knit and he felt more of a part of it than he had before. Scout, whom he had seen as an annoying brat before, seemed to have straightened his act out a bit during his absence and saw that the young man had formed a brotherly friendship with Demoman, whom he had already considered a good friend. Soldier was still bat-shit insane in his eyes, but he held more respect for him as a leader than he did before. Engineer seemed more sociable than before and was more willing to share some of his work with his teammates. Medic and Heavy hadn't changed much, but he could tell the two weren't as stiff-laced as they used to be (especially Medic). Pyro seemed friendlier and more welcoming.

He had gotten so used to being called Red over at the BLU base that he requested that his teammates continue to call him that. It took a little getting used to, but everyone quickly caught on. To celebrate Red's return, Pyro cooked a big dinner for the team. Though he'd never openly admit it, he missed Pyro's cooking.

That night after dinner, Red made his way into the basement where his team's Sniper was being detained. He opened the door carefully and shut it behind himself quietly, hoping to not alert the rest of his team. Sniper, whose hands were hand-cuffed behind one of the support pillars, lifted his head up to greet his visitor. Sniper scowled and turned his head away, glaring at the wall. Red walked up to him and crossed his arms.

"Well," he began, "seeing your hesitant behavior earlier today makes me believe that you're willing to answer some questions."

"Piss off," spat Sniper. Red back handed the Australian roughly. He reached out and grabbed his jaw, jerking Sniper's head forward to face Red.

"I don't have the time to deal with your shit, so unless you want to end up a bloody mess, I suggest you do as I say! Have I made myself clear!"

"Crystal," Sniper coughed. Red slowly removed his hand, crossing his arms once more.

"Now…I know that Helen's actions as of late can't solely be because of me dumping her nineteen years ago. There's something else she's after, and I want to know what it is."

"Why should I tell you?"

"I don't doubt your loyalty to her…I doubt hers to you. She's always been out for herself since day one. To tell you the truth, I had been contemplating leaving her before meeting Danny's mother. She didn't care who she had to step on or eliminate to get what she wanted, as you've witnessed today."

"With the metal beam crashing into the train…" Red nodded.

"If this were simply a matter of revenge, she wouldn't be getting everyone else involved. I know there's something much larger going on that she doesn't want us to know about and is willing to kill everyone to stop them from finding out. I want to know what that is." Sniper simply glared at Red, not wanting to answer. Red returned the glare as he punched Sniper in the face. "Answer me!"

"Y…You know how she has control over every government in the world, right?" coughed Sniper, regaining his senses. Red nodded. "Lately, they've been defiant – especially the first-world governments. She wants to scare them back into their place with a Doomsday device she had created at Nucleus. She wanted to threaten to use that to wipe them out if they didn't comply with her. However, in order for her to operate that, she needs a code. She gave that code to you over nineteen years ago without telling you what it was for. She said she told you to keep it hidden on you somehow." Red furrowed his eyebrows.

"I…don't remember her giving me anything like that."

"I don't know where you have the code or what or if it's on something. She doesn't know what you did with it, but she wants that code back." Red brought a hand up to his head, shutting his eyes tightly.

"I honestly can't remember her giving me anything like that. Dammit! Why did I have to forget so many things about her!"

"That's not my problem. Anyway, she needs that code soon, and she wants to use your son as a hostage to get you to do what she wants in finding that code." Red began to pace back and forth.

"A Doomsday device…who the hell did she get to build her one of those!"

"Whoever did it, she had him killed after he built it so he couldn't use it against her."

"And let me guess: she had him write notes down on how to operate it without his presence?" Sniper nodded. "And the code wasn't in the notes just in case they fell into the wrong hands?" Sniper nodded again. "I keep forgetting how smart this woman is."

"I suggest for your son's sake that you figure out what you did with that code. You might be able to keep him safe if you find it before she gets her hands on him." Red stopped pacing and let out a deep sigh.

"The fact that I can't remember something so important like that is irking me." Sniper cocked an eyebrow.

"Maybe something happened that caused you to lose that memory?" Red narrowed his eyes.

"It's possible…I do remember being in an accident nineteen years ago."

"What happened?" Red closed his eyes, trying to remember.

"…I remember being in Seattle in 1949 for…some kind of meeting, I think. I remember just getting out of it and heading back to my hotel. Just before noon, there was a massive earthquake. One of the exterior walls of a building I was walking past collapsed onto me. I woke up a day later in the hospital with a bad concussion and some cracked ribs. I can't remember who I had met or why."

"That explains the memory loss." Sniper looked up at Red as he sighed. He could tell that the man was troubled by not being able to remember what happened. He actually felt a bit of sympathy for him. Sniper frowned, looking down at his lap. After a few moments of silence, he looked up at Red once more. "Maybe something will trigger your memory now that it's on your mind."

"Yeah…" Red slowly made his way to the door, not wanting to discuss things further with his teammate.

"Leon," called out Sniper. Red stopped, looking over his shoulder at him. "I'm…sorry about hurting your son and not stopping Bane. What he did was uncalled for." Red stared at him in awe for a moment before giving him a slight smile. Sniper then glared at him. "Now piss off!"

* * *

Spy slowly opened his eyes. He shut them tightly for a few moments, the bright lights above him causing him to get a headache. He felt the light being blocked by something. He dared to open them once more and was greeted by Scout's worried face. Spy sat up and saw that Scout was standing at his bedside along with Sniper and Medic.

"Danny? Jack? Medic?" he asked. "Where am I?"

"In zhe infirmary at Coldfront," replied Medic. Spy held his hand up to his head and realized that his balaclava was gone. His untamed light brown hair was framing his bandage over his right temple. He gasped when he remembered what happened. Seeing Scout standing in front of him helped calm him down. Scout pursed his lips together and hugged Spy tightly around his waist. Spy chuckled as he hugged him back.

"Woah!" he exclaimed. "I'm glad to see you, too, Danny! More importantly, are you okay?" Scout pulled back a bit to look at him and nodded slightly, an apologetic look on his face. Spy frowned. "What's wrong?" Scout lowered his eyes and looked away from him. "Please say something." It was Sniper's turn to frown.

"Theo, 'e…'e can't." Spy's eyes widened in horror.

"What…? Why?"

"Trauma," explained Medic. "Vith zhe compilation of everyzhing zhat has happened to him in zhe past two weeks – especially in zhe last twenty-four hours – he has lost his voice."

"Will…will he be able to speak again?"

"Vhen he's ready, yes. It vill take time, zhough." Medic sighed. "Maybe I vas wrong about less contact vith Red and you two…zhat might be zhe only zhing zhat vill return his voice to him." Spy frowned worriedly at Scout. He pulled the boy into a comforting embrace, looking at him. He managed to give him a confident smile.

"It'll be okay…I'll be your voice."


	31. Shadows of the Mind

_Author's Note: So sorry for the late update again. I kind of locked my keyless-entry keys in my car at night and had to wait for AAA to break me into my car. Feel free to laugh at me for that - this is the second time I've done that XD. By the time I got home, I passed out in bed. It's short, but I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!_

* * *

Chapter 31 - Shadows of the Mind

Everyone at the BLU base was grateful for the regular weekend ceasefire. It gave them a chance to unpack and get familiar with the area. Not wanting any repeats of what happened at Viaduct, the team took a group tour of the base, inspecting every nook and cranny for any possible security hazards. They made sure they were aware of where every camera was, every possible hiding place, any poor-lit area that needed extra lighting, and of any malfunctioning equipment.

Engineer had met up with his RED counterpart during their lunch break to familiarize themselves with Coldfront's respawn system. Dell was fortunate that Bill had remembered to grab the respawn control device from Viaduct so they could reinstall it at their current location. Once they completed their work, they socialized as they ate their lunch, not minding the cold. Despite the fact that there was snow on the ground, it wasn't nearly as cold outside as it had been at Viaduct. They went their separate ways once they finished eating.

When Engineer returned to the base, he stopped to remember that he was supposed to help Scout get himself set up in his room. Everyone had agreed to Medic's suggestion of having Scout stay with Engineer overnight. Surprisingly enough, Spy and Sniper raised no objections to the notion; they felt that the Texan was the best choice (especially since he could set up a sentry by the door while they slept). During the day, though, Scout stuck to Spy and Sniper like glue. Engineer didn't have the heart to separate the three, especially if their contact with each other could help Scout regain his voice, so he decided to set his room up so all Scout had to do later was put his things away. What Engineer didn't expect, though, was for Scout, Spy and Sniper to already be in Engineer's room setting things up. Engineer's jaw dropped when he saw Scout standing on Engineer's bed nailing a thick sheet to the wall to cover the window.

"What in Sam Hell are you doing!" he cried out. Scout cringed, slowly turning his head to look at Engineer guiltily over his shoulder. "Don't you want some light in here, son?" Scout shut his eyes tightly and shook his head.

_He'll see me…_

"He doesn't want Bane watching him while he sleeps," Spy explained. He looked at Scout. "Right, Danny?" Scout looked at him and nodded. Engineer lifted up his hardhat and rubbed his bald head.

"A sheet's not going to do you much good. C'mon, let's get some plywood to cover that window up." Scout perked up slightly, fully facing his new roommate. Engineer gave him a kind-hearted smile. "If it'll help you feel more secure, then I don't have any issues with doing it. Besides, there's something I want to show you that I've been working on!" Scout's face brightened up slightly as he made his way over to Engineer, with Spy and Sniper following closely behind.

The four exited the bedroom and made their way to the training room, where, once again, Engineer turned part of it into his workshop. In addition to his stack of blueprints, parts and crates of metal, there was a small object no more than a foot high covered up by a sheet. Scout looked at the covered object curiously as Engineer walked over to it. Sniper crossed his arms.

"Is what you wanted t'show us under that sheet?" he asked. Engineer nodded, gripping the sheet.

"Gentlemen…behold!" he exclaimed as he ripped the sheet off, revealing what looked like a smaller version of his level 1 sentry, only it was powered off. Scout gave it a skeptical look. Engineer placed his hand on it. "I like to call this baby the 'Ceiling Sentry'. I'll hook it up to the ceiling inside of my room facing the door. Anything and anyone that it isn't registered to recognize will be shot at upon opening the door." Scout's eyebrows shot up in amazement as his jaw dropped along with Spy and Sniper's. Engineer grinned widely. "And that's not all it does! It also registers how many people are in the room, just in case a disguised Spy gets past it. The only way to reset the internal counter is with a password that I keep right in here." Engineer tapped his head. Scout's face lit up; he looked like a small child seeing presents under the tree at Christmas. Engineer placed an arm around Scout's shoulder. "And the best part is: it's being installed this evening before we go to bed." Scout quickly turned around and gave Engineer a tight, excited hug. Spy smiled.

"Engineer, you never cease to amaze me," he commented. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that thanks to you, all of us will sleep better tonight knowing that Danny will be safe with your new invention."

"Hey, if it works well enough, I'll install one in everyone's bedrooms."

"It seems you've been working hard with improving our security today," noted Sniper. Engineer nodded.

"I'm also working on a new entry system for the base. That one's taking me a little bit longer, though, since I've been focused on finishing this baby up before dinner tonight. Scout's immediate safety is my main priority right now. The entire team's long-term safety is next." Scout looked around, then grabbed one of Engineer's wrenches. He held it up and gave Engineer a requesting look. Engineer rubbed his chin a bit, then smiled. "Sure! I could use the extra help! And I'm sure Spy and Sniper have some things they need to take care of, too."

"That we do," agreed Spy. He ruffled Scout's hair tenderly. "We leave Danny in your care." The four waved good-bye to each other as Engineer and Scout watched Spy and Sniper leave the training room, shutting the door behind them. Scout kept staring at the door for a while as Engineer began grabbing the tools he needed to get back to work. He saw that Scout was still holding the wrench he needed.

"Hey, Scout?" he asked. Scout continued to stare. "Scout?" Silence. "…Danny?" Scout blinked a few times and looked at Engineer, confused. Engineer frowned worriedly. "Are you okay?" Scout lowered his eyes as Engineer crossed his arms. "Still thinking about those two?" Scout nodded. Engineer made his way over to the teen and held his hand out. "Here, I'll help you out. Hand me the wrench." Scout gave him a weird look, but complied with Engineer's request by handing him the wrench. Engineer made his way back to his tools and picked up a hammer. He held the wrench up in his gloved hand and the hammer in his ungloved one. "Okay, pretend Spy's the wrench and Sniper's the hammer." Scout's weird look intensified slightly. "I'm going to ask you a series of questions, and you point to the tool that answers it. Are you with me?" Scout nodded slightly, his expression unchanging.

_You've got to be fucking kidding me…_

"First question: which one makes you laugh the most?" Scout pointed to the wrench. "Which one is the easiest one to talk to?" Scout pointed to the hammer. "Which one do you turn to the most to cheer you up?" Scout pointed to the wrench. Engineer smiled. "Okay, we're getting somewhere! Which one seems to be the most understanding to you?" Scout pointed to the hammer. Engineer sighed. "And we're back to square one. Let's see…which one makes you feel the safest?" Scout was about to point when he suddenly froze, seeing a shadow move on the wall behind Engineer. He turned around to look out the frosted windows to see if he could see the source of the shadow. He caught a glimpse of something large for a split second before it darted to the left.

_Oh God, it's him!_

Engineer had seen the shadow, as well. He set his tools down and grabbed his pistol and cautiously made his way to the window. In a panic, Scout reached out and grabbed the back of Engineer's overalls with both of his hands tightly, clinging to him. Engineer stopped and turned around, placing his hands on Scout's shoulders. He frowned deeply when he felt the boy tremble.

"Scout, calm down," he pleaded. "I'm just going to peek out the window to see if I can see anything." Scout quickly shook his head in protest, shutting his eyes tightly.

_Don't leave me alone…!_

Scout jumped when he heard a loud thump against the window. Engineer whipped out his pistol and aimed it at the window. The two saw another large shadow against the window briefly before it darted away again. He began to back up into a corner, using his other hand to motion for Scout to stay behind him. Once in the corner, Scout clung to the back of Engineer's shirt tightly, staring at the window in horror.

_Don't let him get me…!_

Engineer could tell Scout was panicking and it killed him that he couldn't do more to calm his fears. He suddenly remembered that he had a way to speak to his teammates still. He used his free hand to pull out his walkie-talkie from his utility belt.

"Solly, we've got a problem!" he exclaimed through the radio.

"What's going on?" interrogated Soldier on the other end.

"Someone or something is trying to get into the training room through the window outside! Scout's in here with me!"

"Affirmative! Heavy and I will check it out immediately! Over and out!" Once all communications ceased, Engineer heard another thud from the window. He squinted his eyes underneath his goggles, trying to figure out what the large blur that kept ramming itself against the window was. A few moments later, he heard Soldier's voice from outside barking out orders to the mystery form.

"You! Stop right where you are! That is an order!" shouted Soldier.

"You cannot win!" yelled Heavy. Scout shut his eyes tightly and buried his face into Engineer's back as he heard the sound of a shotgun going off. Soon, there was nothing to be heard. After a few minutes of dead silence and waiting with bated breath for any kind of news, Soldier hopped back onto the radio.

"All clear, Engie! Everything's fine!" he reported. Engineer breathed a sigh of relief.

"What was the source?" he questioned.

"Dinner! We're having deer tonight!"

"It was a deer?"

"Affirmative!"

"What the hell was it doing trying to get into the training room!"

"Damned if I know. Probably saw its reflection in the window and thought it was another deer. Anyway, off to get this sucker ready for feasting! Over and out!" Scout exhaled a shaky breath.

_I'm such an idiot…_

Engineer turned around and placed his hands on Scout's shoulders again, giving him a worried expression.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked softly. Scout couldn't make eye contact with the man. He stared at the ground and turned his head away, hugging himself.

_I'm such a coward…_

Engineer frowned deeply. He hated seeing Scout in his current state. It reminded him of when Scout first arrived to their team six months prior. Back then, the boy had been quiet, moody, whiny and anti-social. After about a month, he began to open up to the rest of the team, becoming the cocky, energetic, boastful teammate everyone knew him to be. He had created a special bond with the boy; he had kind of adopted Scout as his own while being away from his wife and daughter. Engineer enjoyed being a father figure to him knowing that Scout never really grew up with one.

In recent weeks, he had watched the once proud young man revert into a frightened, confused, paranoid child. He could tell by Scout's expression that the boy knew about his recent transformation and was beating himself up about it. It pained him to think that Scout was blaming himself for something that was out of his control. He knew Scout didn't want anyone to get hurt because of him, but at the same time, he could tell that the boy couldn't handle his situation by himself. His shrinking away from others, his inability to look someone in the eye when he was upset, and his constant state of paranoia...they were all silent cries for help, whether Scout knew it or not or chose to accept it.

Unable to take the silence and uncomfortable atmosphere anymore, Engineer pulled Scout into a fatherly hug, rubbing his back gently. Scout blinked from the sudden gesture, then closed his eyes and rested his head on Engineer's shoulders, returning the embrace.

"It's okay, Scout," he assured. "It's okay to feel the way you are right now. You don't need to be ashamed of it. Don't be afraid to rely on us if you feel uncomfortable about something, no matter how minor you may think it is. We're here for you, and we're going to help you get through this one step at a time." Scout clutched Engineer's shirt a bit, nodding into his shoulder.

_Thank you…_


	32. Revelations

_Author's Note: Sorry for yet another late update! I got so caught up in relaxing when I got home from work this week that I forgot how long ago I updated. I'm glad to see my favorite readers are still reviewing my fanfic, so thank you Iz and anonymous (whom I know really is now thanks to dA)! You two are amazing!_

_Warning: fluff in this chapter.  
_

* * *

Chapter 32 - Revelations

Red spent the entire afternoon digging through all of his belongings and thoroughly inspecting them, trying to see if any of his items contained something that even slightly resembled a code. He checked all of his suits, his cuff links, his ties, his balaclavas, his gloves and any kind of rings or jewelry that he had on him. He sifted through all of the paperwork and journals that he had brought along with him, hoping that he had written it down; unfortunately, he hadn't.

As he sat cross-legged on the floor of his room reading through one of his journals, he stopped on a certain page that had a baby picture attached to it. He took the picture into his hands carefully and smiled, reading what was written below the picture.

"Daniel Isaac, 6:30 P.M., March 30, 1950," he narrated. "Six pounds and eight ounces." He sighed, smiling sadly. "I'm glad I was at least there for that one special day. That was the best day of my life. I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

"Missed what for the world?" asked a young voice from his doorway. Red yelped in surprise and dropped his journal, looking up at the source of the voice. Standing in the doorway was Scout leaning against it with his left arm above his head, his left leg crossed in front of his right, and his right fist on his hip holding a baseball bat. Red was pretty sure he looked ridiculous in the Bostonian's eyes sitting on the floor uncivilly.

"Dammit, Casey!" he retorted. "Don't you ever knock!"

"Your door was wide open, man!" shot back Scout. "Sheesh, don't have a cow!" Red calmed down and sighed, standing up.

"Anyway, what brings you to my room?" Scout shifted slightly.

"You're goin' over to the BLU base shortly, right?" Red nodded. "Think I could join ya?" Red quickly darted over to Scout and punched him in the stomach.

"Spy check!" Scout doubled over and coughed in pain. Red sighed in relief, then scratched his right temple nervously. "I guess Dell's rubbed off on me, too." Scout suddenly punched Red in the stomach, causing the older man to also double over. "What the hell was that for!"

"You started it!" coughed Scout, slowly standing up straight. Red regained his composure and adjusted his suit.

"Anyway, now that I know you're not an unwanted party, yes, you may accompany me. May I inquire as to why, though?" Scout flailed his hands.

"Dude, stop using big words!" Red chuckled. "Anyway, I just, y'know, wanted to see if Danny wanted to play catch or somethin'. Y'know, just to see who the better baseball player is!" Red placed a hand on Scout's shoulder.

"I'm sure he'll enjoy the company of someone his own age." Scout smirked, then looked at the uncharacteristically messy room of Red's.

"So, uh…what were you doing in here to cause this huge mess?" Red frowned, removing his hand from Scout's shoulder.

"Trying to find a code that Helen is looking for. I intend to destroy it once I find it." Red began to put his things away. "So far, I haven't had any luck finding anything even remotely resembling one. Sniper said that she gave it to me a long time ago, but I don't even remember receiving one from her."

"So, she ain't after ya because you dumped her ugly mug?"

"That's pretty much what it boils down to. But you need to promise me, Casey, that you won't tell a soul about what I just told you."

"What does the code go to?" Red gestured for Scout to get into the hallway as Red stepped out there with him, shutting and locking his door behind him.

"For your safety, I'm going to refrain from telling you. The fewer people I get involved in this, the better. Just promise me that you'll keep quiet about it."

"This conversation never happened." Red smirked.

"Excellent."

* * *

Red and Scout spotted BLU's Soldier walking toward the entrance to the base from its side, followed by Heavy carrying a dead deer on one shoulder. Red smirked at the two.

"That's quite a catch there, Gentlemen," he complimented. Soldier crossed his arms.

"Believe me, I'm glad it was this and not something else," he sighed. Scout cocked an eyebrow.

"Say wha'?" he asked, confused. Heavy frowned.

"Engineer called Soldier on radio," he explained. "He and Little Scout are in training room. They see large shadow in window trying to get into training room. It turned out to be this deer." Red frowned worriedly.

"Are Danny and Dell okay?"

"They're fine, although I'm pretty sure Scout was shook-up by the ordeal," stated Soldier. "Poor kid's been paranoid since we got here."

"Understandably. We actually came here to visit him, if it's okay with you." Soldier nodded and guided the REDs into the base. Heavy broke from the group to take the deer to the kitchen while Soldier escorted Red and Scout to the training room. The group spotted Engineer working on one of his machines while Scout sat on a crate, absently twirling a wrench in one hand and a hammer in the other, staring blankly at them. Red removed his balaclava upon entering the room (mostly to avoid being Spy Checked). He cleared his throat gently to garner their attention. Engineer and Scout looked up from what they were doing, dropping their tools simultaneously. Engineer waved as Scout frowned, lowering his head. Red walked over to his son, putting an arm around his shoulder. "How are you feeling, Kiddo?" Scout looked up at him, then hugged him tightly, resting his head on his chest. "What's wrong?" The silence made Red grow worried. "Please say something, Danny."

"Red, can I have a word with you?" interrupted Engineer, standing up. "It's about Danny." Red ruffled his son's hair and reluctantly pulled away from him, walking over to Engineer. The Texan pulled him aside to speak privately with him. RED's Scout took the opportunity to take out his baseball and put it in Danny's hand. Danny looked up at him, confused.

"Wanna play catch, man?" asked Casey. Scout studied him carefully, then nodded, standing up. The two Scouts went to opposite sides of the training room. Danny tossed the ball to Casey, who lunged to catch it, grinning. "Good arm there! Did you play ball in school?" Danny nodded once he jogged backwards to catch Casey's throw. "Same here! I played for Odyssey High! You?" Danny tossed the ball back, remaining silent. Casey cocked an eyebrow. "Are you goin' to answer me?" Danny tapped his throat, then shook his head. Casey's look softened as he frowned. "Oh…Sorry, dude…So, uh…Did you go to Monument High?" Danny nodded. Casey smirked again. "Rival teams…I think I remember goin' up against ya a few times! You were that shortstop, right?" Danny perked up a bit, nodding after he caught Casey's throw. Danny pointed behind him, then tossed the ball up above him, catching it immediately as it came down. He gave Casey an inquisitive look. Casey grinned. "Yeah, I was an outfielder. A damn good one, too!" Danny chuckled mutedly.

_Too bad you couldn't win a single game against us!_

Casey grinned, feeling successful in getting Danny to laugh. Though he'd never openly admit it, the only reason he wanted to tag along with Red was so he could cheer Danny up. It felt good interacting with someone his own age and he knew he'd be able to keep in contact with Danny after the war, seeing as how they were both from South Boston. Casey had a feeling Danny wouldn't be able to open up to his family or friends about what he had been through, but he hoped that Danny would be able to confide in him and hopefully recover from his ordeal. After nearly experiencing death himself from his traitorous teammate in relation to the situation at hand and how helpless he felt, he felt empathetic toward Danny. He felt some of Danny's pain himself, and he wanted to help make that pain go away.

Danny smirked as he threw the ball long. Casey jumped backwards to catch it in mid air. He threw the ball once more, aiming for a fast pitch. It ended up being a bit low and short, causing Danny to lunge forward to catch it. Danny skidded on his chest on the ground, but was successful in catching it. He held the ball up and grinned cockily at the fellow Bostonian. Casey ran over and knelt down in front of Danny, taking the ball from him and helping him up. He leaned his head in to speak into his ear.

"Don't tell your dad I'm tellin' you this," he began in a low voice, "but our boss is lookin' for some kind of code she gave him a long time ago. I don't know all of the details, but that's why she's been after you and Red. I think if she's goin' through all of this trouble to try and get you and kill anyone that gets in the way, it's gotta be super important." Danny's eyes widened slightly. "Remember: you didn't hear this from me." Danny looked down at the ground with his eyes for a few moments, then gave Casey a grateful look. Casey grinned, giving him a thumbs-up. "No problem. Hey, we should hang out sometime after the war. Whaddya say?" Danny grinned and held his hand out. Casey grab it tightly and shook hands with him. The two were interrupted when Red and Engineer walked over. Red placed an arm around Danny's shoulders and hugged him.

"Sorry I couldn't spend much time with you today, Kiddo," he apologized. "I'll swing by again tomorrow and make it up to you." He eyed Casey's baseball, then looked at Danny once more. "Maybe we can play catch?" Danny smiled happily and nodded, hugging Red. Red returned the hug, rubbing Danny's back. "It's a deal then. You take it easy now and rest up, okay? We all want to hear your voice again soon!" Danny pulled back and nodded.

Red and Casey said their final good-byes for the evening and exited the BLU base, trekking through the snow back to their own. Red glanced over at his young partner and smiled tenderly at him.

"You know,' he began, "that's the most energetic I've seen Danny in a while. I think you had a lot to contribute to that. Thank you for cheering my son up." Scout shrugged nonchalantly.

"Eh, it's whatever," he commented. "He ain't a challenge on the battlefield if he's all mopey and stuff, y'know?" Red knew that was Scout's way of saying "You're welcome" and admitting that he was happy to help a new friend without losing his "cool" image of himself.

Seeing his son's smiling face once more gave Red a stronger drive to get to the bottom of the code mystery. He felt that if he could find the code and destroy it, he'd be able to not only stop The Administrator's efforts to control the world's rebelling governments, but he'd be able to keep his son safe and out of her grasp. That, he thought, would return Danny's voice and his normal cheery disposition.

_The sooner I find that code, the better!_

* * *

That night after dinner at the BLU base, Engineer and Scout decided to turn in early, exhausted from their day's activities. Engineer stood on a ladder, installing the ceiling sentry as Scout finished putting his things away. Once the two finished prepping their things and the room (including putting the plywood over the window), Scout changed into his pajamas as Engineer readied a sleeping bag for the floor. Scout yawned tiredly and began to open up the sleeping bag. Engineer stopped him before he could get in.

"Nope," he stated. "You're taking the bed. I'll take the sleeping bag." Scout gave him a look of protest, gesturing to the room, then to him. Engineer crossed his arms, giving him a firm look. "I know this is my room, but you are technically my guest. As your host, I say you take the bed." Scout shook his head as he crossed his arms, mimicking Engineer's expression. Engineer narrowed his eyes. "You're sleeping in the bed, and that's final, young man!" Scout cringed and nodded, knowing better than to argue with Engineer when he pulled the "father" card. He sighed in defeat and climbed into bed. Engineer tucked him in and ruffled his hair, smiling. "Are you going to be able to sleep okay with the changes we made?" Scout nodded, turning onto his side and snuggling into the pillow. Engineer smoothed down Scout's hair. "G'night, Scout. Sleep tight."

Once Engineer went into the bathroom to get ready for bed himself, Scout forgot that he was still wearing his dog tags. He sat up and took them off. He stared at them for a moment in his hand. He focused on the one that had what looked like his father's faded name on it. He rubbed his thumb over it, then stopped, feeling more on the tag below the name line. He grabbed a pad of paper and pencil from the nightstand and placed a sheet of it over the tag. He rubbed the pencil on the paper, capturing the texture from the characters on the tag onto the paper. He was able to read the tag better on the paper, using the pencil to complete the parts of the letters that were too faded to show up on the sheet. His eyes widened in shock as he read what was on the paper:

_LEON FOYER_

_734MF0R7R3552_

Scout hid the note under his pillow and lied back down on his side. He pulled the blankets over his shoulders and clutched the tags to his chest tightly, shaking. The code that his father was looking for – the very thing The Administrator sought – was in his hands. It was the one thing he held onto since he was a child – he had it the whole time! He had to tell his father when he visited the next day. He knew he'd be betraying Casey's trust, but he didn't have a choice. His and his father's safety were on the line!


	33. Doubts

_Author's Note: You would think I would have more time to update - or at least remember to - when I'm only working one part-time job and no classes for the summer. Apparently I was wrong! I hope this update satisfies your appetites!_

* * *

Chapter 33 - Doubts

_He sat on the beach, looking out at the waves. He took in a deep breath of the sea's air, then exhaled, smiling happily. He enjoyed the soothing sound of the waves crashing against the sand, not missing the sound of the rampant gunfire and cries of death that he had grown accustomed to. He didn't even mind the annoying caws of the seagulls flying overhead._

"_Yo, Jack!" cried out a familiar voice. He turned to his right and smiled happily as he saw Scout running to him, laughing happily. How he had missed that wonderful sound, too. His smile quickly faded as he saw Scout skid to a halt, a disgusted expression forming on his face. "Jack, you look…old!"_

"_What are you talkin' about?" he asked. He gasped, suddenly realizing that his voice sounded much older than before. He looked down at his hands. His eyes widened in horror as he saw how wrinkled they were. He quickly searched around for a reflective surface of some kind – anything would do at that point! He forced himself to stand, his entire body stiffening up as he quickly ran to his camper van. He looked at his reflection in the side-view mirror and let out a terrified scream at how old and decrepit he appeared._

Sniper sat up in bed and let out a short yelp, drenched in his own sweat. He calmed his breaths down as he looked at his calloused hands, relieved that what he had experienced was merely a dream. He looked out into his room and came face-to-face with a worried Scout. Sniper jumped back in his bed, startled. He blinked in confusion.

"Scout? What are you doin' in 'ere?" he asked. "What time is it?"

"Seven o'clock," answered Engineer, who was also in the room. "Get dressed. We've got a match today." Sniper blinked again.

"It's Sunday! Why th'bloody 'ell do we have a Sunday match?"

"Not sure, but our boss ordered it, so we've got to do what she says, unfortunately." Sniper groaned, setting his feet on the floor and pushing himself out of bed. He leaned backwards to crack his back, stood up straight, then cracked his neck as he stretched his arms. "At least you had a better waking-up party than we did."

"Oh?"

"Solly barged into the room and banged his shovel on his helmet to wake us up! Scared the bejeesus out of both of us!" Scout facepalmed, remembering the rude awakening. Engineer sighed, then grinned. "But don't worry; that won't happen again to anyone…ever." Sniper cocked an eyebrow at him as he threw his clothes on.

"Let me guess: you Spy Checked 'im into next week?"

"Yup! Now hurry up before you miss breakfast! Scout and I still have to wake up the rest of the team that didn't hear Solly's incessant banging." Scout gave Engineer a look. Engineer grinned. "You're thinking, 'who _didn't_ hear him', right?" Scout nodded in confirmation. Engineer laughed, messing up Scout's hat and headset. Scout flailed his hands in Engineer's direction, then readjusted his hat and headset. "Hey, I'm getting better at reading your expressions!" Scout put his hands on Engineer's back and started pushing him out of the room. Engineer poked his head into the room once the two were in the hallway. "See you at breakfast!"

"Sure thing." Once Engineer and Scout were out of sight, Sniper sighed. He walked into the bathroom to get a better look at himself. He frowned deeply, noticing the lines on his face that drew from the sides of his nose to the corners of his mouth. Some of the skin on his neck and around his jaw line was beginning to sag slightly. Even though he knew most of his aging skin was due to his numerous years of sun exposure in the Outback, it did make him look older than he actually was.

He wasn't the oldest one on the team, but he was most definitely not the youngest at the age of thirty-four. He rested his hands on the counter and looked down at the sink for a few moments, then up at the photograph of Scout he kept by the mirror. How had he fallen for someone so much younger than him?

"What the 'ell am I doin'?" he asked himself. "I feel like a bloody cradle robber! Danny's eighteen, for cryin' out loud! This…this isn't right…"

"Jack?" called out a voice from his room. He knew it was Spy's instantly. Sniper composed himself and exited the bathroom, grabbing his hat and glasses off of his dresser. Spy could tell that something was bothering his friend. "What's wrong?"

"Theo, 'ow old are you?" Spy cocked an eyebrow.

"Twenty-six. Why?"

"Eight years…that sounds more acceptable."

"What are you talking about?" questioned Spy curiously. Sniper began pacing nervously.

"I'm talking about th'difference in age between you and Danny!"

"Well, what about you?"

"I'm almost old enough to be 'is dad, for crying out loud!" snapped Sniper. Spy walked over to Sniper and punched him in the face hard enough to make the man stumble to catch his balance.

"Calm down! You freaking out about this isn't helping!" scolded Spy. Sniper rubbed his jaw where he got hit, standing up straight. Spy let out a quick sigh, giving him a stern look. "Okay, now that you're calm, think for a moment. Danny obviously doesn't have an issue with the age gap, and nobody else has raised any objections to it. So why are you suddenly concerned about your age?" Sniper sighed once more, pacing.

"It just suddenly dawned on me overnight just 'ow much younger 'e is than me. 'e's got 'is 'ole life ahead of 'im. 'e wants t'go t'college when we get out of this 'ell! I don't want t'old 'im back!"

"You're not going to. And don't forget: you're still pretty young, too." Sniper didn't feel any better with his friend's statement. Spy's look softened as he patted Sniper's shoulder. "Just forget about it for now and focus on today's match. Nobody's had a chance to survey the outside areas of the base yet, so you need to be on your guard."

"Right…"

"Now let's hurry up and get something to eat before we end up starving for the match. We need to be at the top of our game to protect Danny."

"Do y'think somethin' is goin' t'appen?" asked Sniper. Spy frowned, narrowing his eyes.

"Why else would she order a Sunday match?"

* * *

The object of the game at Coldfront was to capture all five points; two in each base and one central point outside. BLU's strategy was to have Engineer and Scout guard the final point closest to respawn, Demoman the point closest to the exit of the base, and Sniper watching the central point while the rest of the team advanced to get into the RED base and take their points.

As safe as Scout felt being on the final point with him and Engineer hiding behind a Level 3 sentry and dispenser, he still had a very uneasy feeling about the match. He had found the thing that his father and his boss were looking for. Even though he hadn't mentioned his findings to anyone, he knew that The Administrator was still after him as leverage for her to get what she wanted his father to do. What if she managed to get her hands on him while he still had the code on his person? She'd easily be able to find it and do whatever she wanted with it. He had to find a way to get his dog tags to his father without The Administrator finding out. He was taken away from his thoughts when he saw Demoman run out of respawn back toward the battlements and heard Engineer call out to the Scotsman.

"Hey, Demo!" he shouted. Demoman skidded to a halt and looked at him. "How's the battle out there?"

"Jus' a normal day," replied Demoman. Engineer scowled.

"Kind of odd that we have a Sunday match, isn't it?" Demoman pondered for a bit, then looked at the Texan.

"Well, considerin' all o' the matches we missed at Viaduct, I guess I can understand 'avin' one today." He looked over at Scout's nervous expression, then smirked. "I'll 'elp you all out with security, though! A few sticky bombs should do the trick!"

"Thanks, Demo! Much appreciated!" Demoman saluted, then launched eight sticky bombs at both entrances into the room – four around each doorway. He ran through the doorway on the left to go back out into the battlements. Engineer smiled over at Scout. "Does that make you feel any better?" Scout was about to nod his answer when he quickly readied his pistol upon seeing RED's Soldier charge into the room. Two rockets were sent their way. One hit the sentry while the other hit Engineer, instantly killing and gibbing him and the sentry gun while damaging the dispenser. Scout stayed behind the dispenser and began shooting rapidly at Soldier from his position. He was lucky that Soldier had sustained damage early on since it only took a few hits to send him back to respawn.

Scout witnessed Demoman quickly run back into the room in a panic, having heard the ensuing fight. He ran over to Scout, who was beginning to calm his breathing.

"Scoot! Are ye okay?" he asked. Scout simply nodded. "I'll wait with you until Engineer comes out of respawn." Scout gave him a grateful look. He waited a few more minutes, then realized that Engineer hadn't returned yet. Was he building another sentry gun by the respawn so he could have a Level 3 one ready? If he was, why would he leave him by himself on the point? He looked over his shoulder through the glass behind the point at the entryway leading into respawn. He had noticed very little activity from there in the past fifteen minutes aside from Demoman.

He then glanced over at Demoman's sticky bombs. He blinked in confusion; he could have sworn that there were eight bombs there instead of seven. He squinted his eyes to get a better look at them, noticing that the ring painted around the center of the bombs was purple instead of blue. He quickly turned his head back to his teammate, noticing that the dispenser wasn't trying to heal or reload him. His eyes widened in shock once it sank in that the Demoman next to him didn't belong to his team!

_Oh God! What do I do?_

* * *

Sniper stood in his sniping spot hidden in the rocks on the hill for a good ten minutes waiting for someone from RED to try and capture the still unclaimed central point. He grew worried when his own team hadn't returned to the point from respawn, but he was growing especially worried when he couldn't spot a single person from RED, either.

While it did bother him that he seemed to be completely alone out in the cold, it gave him a quiet moment to reflect on his relationship with Scout. The age difference between the two was greatly troubling him, but the fact that it took him so long to realize it irked him more. He felt that he should have known better than to get involved with someone half his age. While he loved Scout greatly and would give his own life for the Bostonian, he couldn't tell if the love he felt for him was romantic or paternal in nature. As of late, he had been more playful in his actions with Scout and the energy that he used to feel around him was beginning to fade. He wasn't sure if it was because of his worry for Scout or a doubt in his own affections.

"I wonder if 'e's feeling th'same way about me?" he asked himself. "'e's been more responsive t'Theo than t'me, but Theo's more outgoing and caring than I am…Dammit! Why now of all times for me to be doubtful! I can't…I can't do this!"

"Sniper! Do you read me! Where are you!" shouted Engineer over the radio. Sniper snapped out of it and grabbed his radio.

"Th'rocks overlooking th'central control point," he responded.

"Get back into the BLU base ASAP! The gate to the respawn room's been tampered with! The rest of us except for Scout and Heavy have been sent back to respawn, but we can't get out of it!" Sniper gasped.

"Th'same thing must've 'appened to the REDs, too, since I seem t'be th'only one outside. Where's 'eavy and Danny?"

"I don't know. Scout still can't talk and Heavy's radio's dead! Get back to the base and help Scout! If you find Heavy, have him try to break the gate!"

"Ten-four! I'm on my way!"

Scout's mind began to race. He was standing right next to one of The Administrator's henchmen, but he wasn't doing anything except standing there. Nobody had gotten out of respawn yet, which scared him greatly. He felt trapped and helpless where he was. The man standing next to him was larger in size compared him. When he saw the man bring his hand up to scratch the bridge of his nose, he revealed a pistol holstered to his belt.

_True courage is facing your fears head on…_

He instantly looked at his dog tags, hearing his father's words echo through his mind. On the tag with clearer writing, those words shone brightly from the overhead lights. He stared at it for a moment, pondering its words.

_I'm sick of being a coward…I'm sick of hiding behind others…This...Ends…NOW!_

Scout knelt down and grabbed some of the unburned gun powder from the RED Soldier's rockets that lay on the ground. When the man turned to see what Scout was up to, the young man quickly stood up and tossed the ashes into the man's good eye, causing him to cry out in pain and clutch it. Scout used that time to put some distance between them and jumped over the dispenser. He ran towards the center of the room and shot at the sticky bombs by the doorways, destroying all of them. He was about to turn around and attack the recovering Demoman when he saw two men wearing dark purple suits and sunglasses dart into the room from the doorways, aiming their pistols at him. Scout ducked behind some crates and shot at the men, killing them instantly.

Demoman recovered a lot quicker than Scout had expected. He was surprised at how quickly the Scotsman moved (if he was even Scottish to begin with), for he didn't give Scout a chance to turn around before wrapping his arms around the teen tightly from behind and hoisting him up off of the ground. Scout struggled wildly but found himself unable to get out of the man's grasp. The man glared at him hatefully.

"You thought you could outsmart me, you little punk!" he hissed. "Well, you thought wrong! Now quit struggling! You're coming with me!" Scout quickly shook his head in protest, trying to kick backwards to hit the man's knees. He connected with the man's leg, but not hard enough to even leave a bruise. The man's eye narrowed as he squeezed tighter, causing Scout to let out a muted gasp of pain. He suddenly remembered that he still had his pistol in his hand. He aimed it toward the man's feet and pulled the trigger. He knew he shot the man's foot when the man roared in pain and let go of Scout. Scout landed on his feet and spun around, shooting the man in the head and killing him.

He breathed heavily, trying to calm himself down. He smiled slightly in pride, feeling a rush of euphoria rush through him as he relished his victory. He felt great, having protected himself for a change. His smile quickly faded as he saw the three bodies still present in the room that should have faded by that point.

_Respawn, Dammit! Respawn!_

His breath quickened again as his eyes widened in horror. He took a few steps backwards, shaking his head in disbelief as he stared at the Demoman he had just killed.

_They're not respawning…Oh God, they're not respawning! Why are they not respawning?_

"Danny!" he heard Sniper cry out as the man ran into the room with Heavy trailing behind him. Sniper saw the distressed look on Scout's face and it made his heart break. He looked down at his feet and saw the dead bodies of The Administrator's henchmen. He quickly realized that Scout had killed all three men in the room by himself. Heavy made his way down the stairs to Scout while Sniper stood where he was, watching the young man.

"Is Tiny Scout okay?" asked Heavy worriedly. Scout looked up at him, then up at Sniper with scared eyes. Sniper pursed his lips slightly, then looked at Heavy.

"You and Danny try to open the respawn gate. Everyone is trapped inside the respawn room. I'll go help the REDs." Scout's eyes widened even more than they already were as he darted to the edge of the platform, reaching up and grabbing Sniper's pant leg as the Australian turned to leave. Sniper stopped and looked down at Scout's torn face.

_Don't leave me…! Not now…!_

"I…I can't, Danny. I need t'go 'elp your dad. Please let go."

Sniper frowned sadly, turning his head and walking away as Scout slowly loosened his grip from Sniper's pant leg. Heavy glared at Sniper as he saw the Australian quickly disappear into the base. Scout slowly backed away, fighting back the tears he wanted to shed as he stared at where Sniper once stood. He quickly turned around to look up at Heavy once the larger man placed a hand gently on his shoulder. Heavy gave him a confident smile, hoping that it would abate some of Scout's anguish.

"Scout is credit to team! You fought bravely and won! Come! Let us free our comrades!" he exclaimed. Scout lowered his head to stare out at the respawn gate. He quickly darted over to it, stopping himself before he crashed into it. He tried lifting the gate from the outside, but to no avail. He searched for any kind of device near the gate that could open it, but none could be found. He slammed the sides of his fists into the door and kept them there, resting his forehead on the cold metal as he began to panic.

_Why…? Why won't you help me…?_ _Why did you leave me when I needed you…?_

Heavy finally caught up to Scout and studied the door. He pulled out his boxing gloves and slipped them over his large hands. He motioned for Scout to step aside before punching the gate fiercely, leaving a giant hole in it. He pulled his hand out, removed his gloves, then lifted the gate about a foot off the ground using the hole as a handle. He reached down and grabbed the bottom of the gate with his other hand and finished pushing it up all of the way. He was relieved to see the rest of the team safe and unharmed inside of the respawn room. Spy saw how upset Scout was and rushed to his side, pulling him into a comforting embrace.

"Danny! Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. Scout looked up at Spy wide-eyed. Spy frowned. "Where's Jack?" Heavy scowled.

"Little Sniper leave to help RED team," he spat. "RED team can wait; Scout cannot." Spy looked at Heavy in shock, as did the rest of the team. Sniper actually left Scout in the distraught state he was in! He looked down at Scout, feeling the hurt and confused look in his eyes. He narrowed his own angrily.

"I'm going to have a word with him when he gets back…" he snarled. His look softened tremendously when he saw Scout's expression change to one of fear.

_Are you going to abandon me, too…?_

"…Engineer, watch Danny," ordered Spy. "I've changed my mind. I can't wait until later."


	34. That Beautiful Sound

_Author's Note: For once, an on-time update! Thanks again for the great reviews! To answer the question about the agents, that'll actually be explained further in the sequel I have planned, so it will be addressed at some point._

* * *

Chapter 34 - That Beautiful Sound

Red was pounding furiously on the gate inside of the respawn room in a state of panic. Scout and Demoman ran up to him. They each grabbed an arm and pulled him away, holding onto him tightly as he struggled.

"Red, get a hold of yourself!" ordered Demoman.

"Let me go!" shouted Red. "I have to help Danny!"

"The gate won't open, you dumb-ass!" scolded Scout. "So just calm your ass down and sit on the bench until help gets here, whenever the hell that is!" Red took a few quick, shallow breaths followed by a couple of slow, deep ones. Once he calmed himself down, Scout and Demoman helped their teammate over to the benches and sat him down. Engineer scratched his head.

"Since when did Scout start giving out orders that were actually followed?" he pondered aloud. Before Scout could answer, they heard knocking on the other side of the gate. Soldier quickly made his way to the gate, keeping his shotgun in hand.

"Who's there?" he interrogated.

"Oi! It's me!" shouted the man on the other side. Red blinked as he lifted his head up.

"Jack?" he asked. "Is that you?"

"Yeah! I'm 'ere t'get you guys out of there!" Scout grinned at Red.

"See? I told you help would get here soon!" he boasted.

"No, you didn't," corrected Engineer. Scout shot him a quick glare.

"Shut up!"

"Knock it off, Ladies!" hissed Soldier. He looked at the gate once more. "Got any ideas on how to open the gate?" Sniper froze momentarily. He was so preoccupied with getting away from Scout that he didn't come with a plan.

"Just…one moment!" he called out. He grabbed his radio. "Sniper t'Engineer, do you copy?"

"Go ahead," answered BLU's Engineer on the other end.

"Are you guys out of th'respawn room yet?"

"Yeah. I have to make a new gate since Heavy destroyed the other one with his bare hands." Sniper blinked a few times in surprise.

"Wow. Okay, thanks." He paused momentarily, sighing. "'ow's Danny?"

"Oh _now_ you care?" Sniper cringed, prepping himself for a verbal beating. "What the hell is wrong with you, leaving him to have a panic attack like that? I'd better not see your face the rest of the night when you get back, lest I let my metal fist become good friends with your sorry mug! Over and out!"

"Engie, it's not what y'think!" Silence. "Engie! Dell!" More silence. He sighed in frustration. "Dammit! 'e turned 'is radio off!" He clenched his radio tightly, then tucked it away in his weapons bag. He faced the gate once more. "Can y'guys 'ear me?"

"I've _been_ able to hear you this whole time!" said Soldier in an irritated manner. "Can you get us out of here or not?"

"Your 'eavy's goin' t'ave t'destroy th'door!"

"That means I'm going to have to make a new one tonight…" RED's Engineer groaned. Heavy cracked his knuckles.

"Why did I not think of this before?" he questioned. He motioned for Soldier to step aside as he pulled out his shotgun. He rammed it into the door, breaking both the gun and poking a hole through the metal. He grabbed either side of the hole with his bare hands and ripped the metal apart, letting out a roar of triumph as he created the opening to freedom. Red quickly stood up and ran for the opening.

"I'm sorry!" he apologized. "I'll be back tonight!" Before anyone could protest, Red was gone. The rest of the team filed out one by one, giving their thanks to Heavy and Sniper. Once the entire RED team had left to go to the interior of the base, Sniper made his way outside.

He slowly walked through the snow toward the central control point pondering what had transpired at his base. He remembered how distraught Scout looked. He wanted desperately to hold Scout tightly in his arms and tell him that everything would be okay, but he couldn't bring himself to do it for some unknown reason. Was he afraid of confusing his feelings once more, or those of Scouts? Was he afraid of giving himself false hope that a relationship with the boy could work? He lifted his head up, seeing a blur of blue rushing towards him. He was quickly caught off-guard when said blue blur tackled him to the ground, landing a hard punch to his face and breaking his glasses, cutting his left cheek and the bridge of his nose. He looked up in shock at Spy, who was glaring hatefully down at him.

"What the _fuck_ is your problem?" the man shouted. Sniper knew he was in for trouble; Spy _never_ swore like that. "What makes you think it's okay to abandon Danny the way you did? He _needed_ you!" Sniper turned his eyes away. "Is this because of this morning? So help me, if it is…!"

"It's…been going on for a while. These doubts, I mean," confessed Sniper. Spy landed another punch to his face.

"Then why didn't you say something sooner? Why lead him on like this? Are you _trying _to get him to hate you?" Sniper didn't answer; he continued to stare at the snow drift he had been for the past minute. Spy's eyes widened slightly in shock. "You are…aren't you?" Silence. "So that's it? You're just going to give up?" Sniper looked up at him.

"Go to 'im. You're th'one that 'e needs, whether 'e knows it or not."

"What are you talking about, Jack?"

"I've seen th'way 'e is around you. Whenever 'e's been down, you're th'one that's been able t'bring th'light back into 'is eyes. There's a smile that 'e gives you and you alone. Whether 'e's realized it or not, 'e's chosen you. And…I think 'e chose correctly." Spy's look softened, though his eyes remained as wide as saucers. "'e chose you a long time ago. Remember when 'e first arrived at Hydro?"

"How could I forget? That was around the time he started opening up to everyone."

"You were th'one t'get 'im t'open up." Spy lowered his head, remembering the incident well. Scout had only been with the team for a week and greatly annoyed everyone with his whining and moodiness. After getting enough complaints from his teammates about it, Scout stopped voicing his opinion and what was bothering him altogether.

It had been pouring rain that day and Scout never returned from the match. Spy braved the storm to search for him and eventually found huddled in a corner in a storage shed on the RED side soaked to the bone and freezing with a sprained knee and a fever. Spy remembered holding Scout close as he let the Bostonian let out everything he had been holding back while letting him know that he had someone to turn to whenever he wanted to talk, whether it was about his problems or about an American baseball team he knew nothing about. It was that day that he started feeling something special for the young man, and it took months of getting to know him better to realize that he had fallen in love with him.

Spy returned his gaze to Sniper's, having calmed down considerably. Sniper managed a smile.

"I just want Danny t'be 'appy, and I know that you can make 'im that way. As long as I know that 'e's 'appy and well taken care of, then I'm 'appy." Spy returned the smile.

"Thanks, Jack." Sniper's smile grew slightly before he was met with another punch to the face.

"Ow! What th'bloody 'ell was that one for?"

"You're still a prick for leaving him like that! C'mon, let's get back to the base."

* * *

Red made it into the BLU base without incident. With Medic's directions, he was able to quickly make it to Engineer's room, where Soldier was standing outside of the door. Red skidded to a halt, catching his breath. Soldier looked at him worriedly.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Red nodded, regaining his composure a bit.

"Where's Danny?" Soldier frowned, looking at the closed door.

"Engie's trying to calm him down right now."

"What happened?"

"Today was most definitely a set-up to try and kidnap Scout. The respawn system works, but the gates were tampered with to keep us inside of respawn, thus allowing no opposition from the rest of us while The Administrator's henchmen could easily get away with him. They weren't banking on Scout retaliating and killing all three henchmen. Scout, however, wasn't banking on there being no respawn point for her cronies." Red frowned deeply.

"He permanently killed them…the man he killed that landed him here still weighs heavily on his conscience, and now he's got these three to add to it."

"I think he'll calm down considerably when he knows that you're here." Soldier turned to the door and knocked on it. Engineer quickly came to the door and answered it, stepping into the hallway.

"Keep it down," he ordered quietly.

"He's asleep?" questioned Soldier. Engineer frowned deeply.

"The poor kid cried himself to sleep. Between killing those guys and Sniper basically abandoning him shortly after that really did a number on him. Just when we thought he was getting better, this happens." He sighed. "I'm running out of ideas on what to do to help him."

"Can't we convince him that those deaths were out of self-defense?"

"I tried that, but it wasn't clicking with him." Red raised his hand slightly.

"Let me try," he suggested. "I might have better luck." All three men heard the door creak open slightly. They turned to look at the door and saw Scout poking his head through the opening, hiding behind the door. Red smiled slightly. "Hey, Kiddo. Did we wake you?" Scout frowned deeply, then closed the door, locking it. "Danny?" Red tried opening the door, but to no avail. He knocked on the door. "Danny, please open up!" He heard the distinct sound of his son's feet shuffling on the floor as he made his way to the bed to sit down on it. "Please don't do this! Danny!"

"What's going on?" shouted Spy down the hallway as he and Sniper quickly made their way to the scene. Engineer glared hatefully at Sniper, but Spy got in front of his friend. "Easy, Engineer. I already had a word with him."

"Are you happy now, Sniper?" growled Engineer. "Scout just locked himself in the bedroom and won't open the door for us!" Sniper cringed as Spy stepped forward.

"Let me try," offered Spy. He motioned for the men to step aside as he pulled out a paperclip. He unfolded it and easily picked the lock to the door. Once he heard the door unlock, he turned the knob and held his hand there, preventing it from being locked again. "Danny? It's me. I'm coming in." He calmly opened the door and stood in the doorframe into the dark room. The light from the hallway showed Scout sitting on the bed, hugging his knees to his chest with his face buried in it. The teen slowly lifted his head up to look at Spy. Spy removed his balaclava and shook his head, letting his light brown hair frame his face as it swooped back towards his ears. He gave Scout a warm smile. "It's okay, Danny. Everything's going to be okay." Scout gave him a hurt look.

_You abandoned me…!_

"I know. I'm sorry I didn't stay longer to give you the comfort that you needed earlier. I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere." Scout turned his eyes away.

_How can I trust you won't do it again?_

"Look at me." Scout hesitated for a moment, then turned his eyes to look at Spy's. "I love you, Danny. I've loved you for quite some time. I adore your playful disposition. I celebrate your victories, both large and small. I admire your courage you display every day, even in the face of great adversity and despair. I'm in awe of your inner and outer beauty whenever I'm in your presence. You've given me the passion and drive that's been missing in my life. You alone have melted the icy heart I used to have. While my failures in protecting and comforting you have been great as of late, please know that I would never…ever abandon you. I never want to leave your side. Not a moment passes by when I don't hope for the day that I can see you smile once more or hear the sweet sound of your laughter." Scout looked at Spy in awe, never taking his eyes off of his. Spy gave him a comforting smile. "If you'll accept me, I promise to always stick close by. I will go at your pace and only do what you're comfortable with me doing. All I ask is that you please don't shut us away again. We're all here for you, Danny. I'm here for you. Always." Scout slowly placed his feet on the ground and stood up from the bed. He took two slow steps forward, then quickly ran to Spy, wrapping his arms around the man's waist and burying his face into his chest.

"…Th…Theo!" he choked. Spy embraced Scout tightly, kissing the top of his head as Red, Sniper, Engineer and Soldier's faces brightened up after having heard Scout's voice.

"That sound," uttered Spy. "That beautiful sound. How I've longed to hear that again." Scout looked up at Spy.

"I…I'm sorry…for worrying you like that." Spy brought both of his hands up to Scout's face, kissed away the stray tears from his eyes, then kissed his forehead tenderly. Spy looked into Scout's eyes and smiled.

"Welcome back, Danny. I've missed you."


	35. Safe in His Arms

_Author's Note: Happy Memorial Day to all of my fellow Americans! For my international readers, Happy Monday! Thanks again for the reviews! Keep 'em comin'!_

* * *

Chapter 35 - Safe in His Arms

Engineer, Soldier, Red and Sniper decided it would be a good idea to give Spy and Scout some alone time. Satisfied with knowing that his son was okay and elated that he was talking again, Red made his way back to his base. Unable to contain himself, Soldier excused himself to report the good news to the rest of the team. Engineer and Sniper were left in the hallway, which made Sniper feel extremely uncomfortable. Engineer crossed his arms and glared at the Australian through his goggles.

"Well, Sniper?" asked Engineer, breaking the silence. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Other than I feel 'orrible for what I did but simultaneously glad that Danny's speakin' again?" he answered rhetorically. Engineer sighed.

"Why did you do it? I thought you loved him." Sniper frowned.

"I do love 'im, but…I know I'm not th'one for 'im. While I kind of made th'decision for 'im, I wanted 'im to realize that Theo's th'one that 'e really chose a while back, whether he was conscious of that decision or not."

"You're not usually this psychological. I did hear a bit of your and Spy's discussion this morning, and I understand your reasoning. While I'm still miffed that you did what you did, I understand why. You hurt him to help him." Sniper nodded. Engineer's expression softened a bit, letting everything sink in. He suddenly realized that Sniper's face was bleeding still from his altercation with Spy. "Speaking of hurting people, it looks like Spy did a number on you. C'mon, let's get you patched up."

* * *

Spy sat on the bed with Scout next to him in his embrace. As excited as he was that Scout's voice had returned, he was enjoying the peaceful quiet as his fingers played with Scout's short hair. He leaned in and kissed the top of his head gently, hugging him close.

"How are you feeling?" he inquired. Scout smirked slightly.

"It's funny; I've got my voice back, but I don't know what to say," he answered quietly. "I feel like I should be saying something."

"Well, what's been on your mind lately?" Scout looked at Spy's tie, playing with it a bit absently.

"Mostly just trying to decide who I want to be with, what I want to do with college…"

"I thought you wanted to do criminal justice?" Scout frowned.

"I'm having second thoughts about that. A lot's happened the past few days that's gotten me to doubt whether it's even a good idea for me to go into that field. I mean…what if something happens on the job that makes me remember what happened to me?" Spy felt Scout's grip tighten on him a bit. He frowned deeply, hugging Scout close.

"You don't have to tell me what happened to you right before leaving Viaduct, but I know that whatever happened really hurt you badly. If there's anything that I can do to alleviate that pain, please don't hesitate to tell me." Scout snuggled into Spy.

"You've already done a lot to help me. That speech you gave me…I really needed to hear those words, and I'm glad that you're the one that said them. And just you being here is making me feel better. I feel like a huge weight's been lifted off of my shoulders." His frown deepened. "I just…I still feel horrible for killing those guys. It felt great getting back into the action and actually fighting for myself for once, but when those guys didn't respawn, that rush I felt went away and it was like reliving killing that guy in Boston."

"Both times, you were protecting yourself. I know you didn't mean to kill them, but if you hadn't, you'd be in a much worse situation. I'm proud of you for defending yourself, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there to see it."

"How did you get sent back to respawn?" Spy rubbed the back of his neck, pursing his lips as his face flushed a bit. Scout looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"I…kind of ran around the corner face first into an ubercharged RED Heavy…uncloaked." Scout pursed his lips, snickering.

"Really?" The two stared at each other for a moment, then burst into hysterical laughter. "That was dumb, man!"

"I know!" They calmed their laughter down, looking at each other once more. Spy smiled happily, ruffling Scout's hair. "Your laughter…it's been so long since I've heard it."

"You brought it back." Spy ran his fingers through Scout's hair again, bringing his hand around to caress Scout's cheek. Scout leaned it into Spy's hand, bringing his own up to place over Spy's. The two leaned their faces in slowly, bringing their lips together in a gentle kiss. After a minute, Scout pulled back and looked Spy in the eyes.

"Theo," he began, "I'm not quite ready to say those words yet, but know that I care a lot about you and will do what I can to make this work." Spy smiled.

"Take as much time as you need. Like I said earlier, I won't pressure you into anything. I'll go at your pace." Scout rested his forehead on Spy's shoulder, closing his eyes.

"Thanks, Theo." The jingling from his dog tags caused him to sit up quickly, clutching them. "Oh, shit! I forgot Dad was here! Did he leave already!"

"I think I heard him in the hallway saying he was heading back to his base." Scout stood up and started pacing nervously.

"Shit, shit, shit! There was something I needed to give him!" he hissed, keeping his voice low. Spy stood up and stopped Scout's pacing by placing his hands on his shoulders.

"Calm down. Can it wait until tomorrow?" Scout sighed.

"It's going to have to if he already left."

"What if I ran it over to him tonight?" Scout quickly shook his head, clinging to Spy's suit jacket. Scout continued to speak barely above a whisper.

"Too dangerous. I have something Dad needs that our boss is looking for. I don't know what it's for, but Casey told me that Dad was looking for a code of some kind for something that he didn't know about. If Dad couldn't tell Casey what it was for, then it's something big. I don't want her knowing that I have it, and I want to get it to Dad without her knowing about it." Spy grew worried as he felt Scout tremble in his embrace. "That's why she's been after me…to get Dad to do what she wants. The whole revenge thing was a distraction from her actual motives. Everything else that's happened has just…it wasn't…"

"Shh, it's okay. It's going to be okay." Spy smoothed down Scout's hair and rocked him back and forth gently to try and calm him down. "I'll stick to you like glue during our matches to make sure you stay safe. I'll do my best to protect you. It'll be better if we wait until after the match tomorrow when your father comes to visit, though. There aren't any cameras or sound devices in our bedrooms, so you'll be able to safely give it to him without her knowing."

"Her people can still hear through the windows."

"This window's boarded up, though."

"It's vision-proofed, not sound-proofed." Scout clung tighter, burying his face into Spy's shoulder. He took a few deep, shaky breaths to try and calm himself down. It didn't help him, though, as his breaths began to quicken and his trembling got worse. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" Spy held him tighter.

"It's okay. I've got you. You're safe." Spy rested his cheek on the top of Scout's head as he continued to rock him back and forth gently. While he had been successful in getting Scout to calm down in the past, he was worried about the number of panic attacks Scout had recently. The smallest thing as of late could bring one on, like hearing the jingling of his dog tags or seeing a shadow that triggered a painful memory. He held onto Scout firmly when he felt the young man's legs give out from underneath him. He carefully picked him up and placed him on the bed, lying down next to him. He held Scout close, letting the Bostonian readjust himself so he was resting his head on Spy's chest. The sound of Spy's steady heartbeat helped Scout calm down considerably. Spy rubbed Scout's back gently. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah…thanks, Theo," uttered Scout. "Sorry about that."

"Don't apologize. You've been through a lot, so it's understandable."

"I'm sure it's getting annoying for you, though. I know I'm getting annoyed with it."

"You can't help it. And honestly, I'd rather be here when you have one of your panic attacks than have you go through it alone." Scout scowled.

"You mean like Jack made me do earlier?" Spy frowned. "I don't know why he did that. Did I do something to cause him to do that? He probably hates me…"

"Jack feels horrible for what happened. Engineer and I have already lashed out at him for what he did. At the same time, though, he didn't do it to be mean to you, nor does he hate you. He has his own set of issues he's dealing with. He still cares a lot about you and wants you to be happy and well. He just…felt inadequate. He didn't feel that he could provide you what you wanted or needed." Scout closed his eyes, bringing his left hand up near his face on Spy's chest, lightly clutching his suit jacket. "I hope you don't hate him for what happened."

"I don't. I was just confused, that's all. I mean, one day, he's all about me, then the next, he can't even look at me. I couldn't understand what changed him, but I kind of do now. I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"Let him come to you. He might not be ready to talk to you about it yet."

"Hey, Theo?"

"Mmm-hmm?"

"When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?" Spy looked up at the ceiling.

"Promise not to laugh?" Scout looked up at him. Spy looked down and smiled. "I wanted to be a fireman." Scout grinned.

"Mr. Oh-Dear-God-It's-A-Pyro-Help-Me!" He started chuckling. Spy gave Scout a noogie.

"You promised not to laugh, you goof!" Scout laughed harder, eventually calming himself down. Scout smiled.

"In all honesty, you make a better James Bond than a fire fighter."

"Thank you for comparing me to my idol, Danny."

"Dude, Sean Connery is the shit!"

"I couldn't agree more. So what about you? What did you want to be growing up?"

"To play for the Boston Red Sox. Shortstop. I love playing shortstop; that's what I was in high school." Spy suddenly got an idea.

"Why don't you study sports management then? Maybe try out for the college team? Maybe one day you'll actually _own_ the Red Sox!" Scout yawned tiredly, snuggling into Spy once more as he smiled, closing his eyes.

"I like that idea. I think I'll do that. Great idea…" Spy kissed the top of Scout's head, feeling the boy falling asleep in his arms. Once Scout had fallen asleep, Engineer carefully made his way into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"How is he?" he asked. Spy looked down at the sleeping Scout, then at Engineer.

"Better, though it'll be quite a while before he's one hundred percent again. He had another panic attack a short while ago, and I think that wore him out." Engineer took off his hard hat and goggles and hung them up on a hook on the wall. He walked over to the two and gently rubbed Scout's head.

"He hasn't been sleeping well since we got here. I think that's finally catching up with him, too." He looked at Spy. "I don't have the heart to move him. He looks so peaceful sleeping like that. You can stay in here tonight. Do you need me to get you anything from your room?"

"No, thank you. I appreciate it." Engineer smiled. "Although…could you take my shoes off for me?" Engineer smiled sweetly.

"Hell no. I ain't touchin' another man's feet. Sorry, but you're stuck wearing those tonight." Spy chuckled.

"I was only kidding." He felt Scout squeeze his suit jacket a bit as he readjusted himself. Spy relaxed more as he saw a tiny smile appear on Scout's sleeping face. "Bonne nuit, mon petit lapin."


	36. The Past Returns

_Author's Note: Thanks again for the wonderful reviews, everyone! And Ranger: you're welcome!_

_To my readers, I leave...an on-time update!_

* * *

Chapter 36 - The Past Returns

Spy groggily woke up to the sound of Engineer's alarm clock that the Texan quickly shut off from his spot on the floor. The Frenchman stretched himself out as he yawned. He looked down at Scout and smiled tenderly at the sleeping teen. He brought his hand up and ran it gently through his hair. Engineer got out of his sleeping bag and stood up, walking over to the two.

"Mornin'," he whispered. Spy smiled at him.

"Good morning," he replied quietly.

"Did you two sleep okay?"

"I did. And judging by how he's still asleep, I'm going to say he did, too."

"If you want to get cleaned up and change into some clean clothes, I can watch him." Spy shook his head.

"I'll shower and change after the match. I have a feeling I'm going to be working up a sweat keeping up with Danny."

"Do you think it'll be okay getting him fully back onto the battlefield?" Spy looked back down at Danny.

"I think so. It'll help boost his courage and confidence in his skills. Besides, we're all watching out for him, and I plan on sticking with him."

"Well, you'd better wake him up. We've got to eat breakfast before the match in two hours." Spy nodded as Engineer made his way out of the room. He looked down at Danny and lightly shook his shoulder. Scout groaned, snuggling more into Spy.

"Nnngh…five more minutes," he groaned. Spy kissed the top of his head, shaking his shoulder again. Scout slowly opened his eyes and yawned. He looked up at Spy, who smiled lovingly at him.

"Bonjour, mon amour," greeted Spy. Scout smiled slightly.

"Morning," he yawned.

"Are you ready for your first full match in a while?"

"I'm ready for some of your famous coffee. It's been a while since I've had that." Spy looked up at the ceiling, placing his hands behind his head as he nestled himself further into his pillow while smiling mischievously.

"I think I need some motivation to get out of bed, though…" Scout yanked the pillow out from underneath Spy's head and smacked him with it.

"You ass!" he scoffed as he climbed over Spy to get out of bed. Spy laughed as he followed behind Scout. Scout grabbed his clothes for the day and went into the bathroom to change. Spy readjusted his tie and fixed his suit. He was about to put his balaclava back on before Scout came out of the bathroom and stopped him, planting a quick kiss on his lips. "There. Better?" Spy pulled his balaclava over his head and adjusted it on his face, giving Scout a pleasant smile.

"Quite."

* * *

Scout felt invigorated on the battlefield after having been out of the heat of the battle for so long. Though he felt nervous being out in the open, he felt reassured having Spy at his side watching his back. He felt even more alive when it was he who captured the central control point for his team as he successfully defended it against a Soldier-Medic combo. Instead of feeling perturbed when RED captured the central control point shortly after he did, he felt inspired to fight harder to help his team to victory after the previous day's stalemate.

He did feel frustration, though, when he and Spy were mowed down by RED's Heavy. When they reappeared in respawn together, they were relieved to see each other. They decided to laugh off their deaths as they exited respawn together, heading back out toward the battlements. Engineer waved from the final control point.

"Hey, you two!" he shouted. "How's it going out there?"

"Time has been added!" blared The Administrator over the speakers. Scout smirked.

"Great!" he answered gleefully. "We're mostly fighting over the central point, but right now we're winning!" Engineer grinned.

"Always good to hear! Keep up the good work, Scout!"

"Thanks, Engie!" Scout gave him a thumbs-up before he and Spy ran back outside, taking out RED's Demoman in the process. The two decided to go around the long way around the rocks to attempt a sneak-attack on any unsuspecting RED by the center point. Spy stopped Scout for a moment to cloak himself and peer around the rock formation. Scout whispered, "See anything?"

"Medic-Heavy team on the point," he explained. "It sounds like their Medic has an ubercharge ready."

"Who from our team is there?"

"Soldier, Heavy and Med – never mind. Medic just got sent back to respawn. And Soldier is dueling RED's Demoman while your father is protecting his Medic's rear." Scout pondered for a moment, then placed a hand on his headset.

"Scout to Jack: do you copy?"

"Loud and clear," replied Sniper.

"Can you get a clear headshot of RED's Medic?"

"There's a wall blocking 'im. If 'e moves toward th'window, I can get 'im."

"Gotcha. Heavy, do you hear me?"

"Da!" answered Heavy. Scout poked his head around the rocks, eyeing the Medic-Heavy combo in question.

"If you can, charge around their Heavy at their Medic. He's skittish, so even while ubercharged, you might be able to get him within Snipes' scoping range."

"I will try!" Spy and Scout hid back behind the rock formation as they heard their Heavy's battle cry. The two grinned excitedly at each other as they heard Sniper's rifle go off and the other team's Medic let out a death cry. Scout was grinning from ear to ear in excitement of his plan succeeding.

"Yes!" he shouted excitedly.

"Excellent job, Danny!" complimented Spy. "Not only have your shooting skills improved, but so have your tactical moves! How are you feeling right now?"

"I'm feeling great! Honestly, I haven't felt this great in a long time!" Spy looked Scout in the eyes, reading them like an open book. As excited as his lover was, he could still sense an aura of uneasiness within him, though it was diminishing with every passing hour. Spy smiled happily, knowing that Scout was genuinely having a good time and not forcing himself. Scout smiled at Spy. "I owe a lot of it to you, Theo. Thanks for helping me through everything and sticking by me."

"But of course." Spy's jovial expression was quickly replaced by a vacant one as he was instantly killed by the bullet of a revolver. He collapsed face first into the snow awaiting respawn. Scout gasped in shock.

"Theo!" Scout looked up from his fallen lover at the source of the shot. Stepping out from behind a tree was none other than Bane. Scout's eyes widened like that of a cornered animal as he raised his pistol, aiming it at Bane's chest. "Stay back!"

"Hello, Daniel," greeted Bane as he took a few casual steps forward. Scout placed light pressure on the trigger, not pulling it back fully.

"I said stay back! I'll shoot!"

"Then why do you hesitate?" Scout remained silent, standing his ground as his hands began to shake. Bane smirked. "You're afraid of permanently killing me, just like you killed those men in the base yesterday or that man in Boston…yes, I witnessed both acts. Yesterday's was by far quite a sight. Such skill…such bravery."

"Shut up! If you were there yesterday, and if you really do care about me, then why didn't you do anything?"

"I wanted to see what you were capable of. I can see that you are quite capable of taking care of yourself…or are you?" Scout glared at him hatefully. "It pained me to merely watch you in the state you regressed into. How I wanted to take away all of your pain."

"Bull shit! You'd only make things worse!"

"Then how about I make things right starting now? Allow me to alleviate some of your burdens."

"Don't you dare! Don't come near me!"

"Remember that man in Boston? The one that you allegedly killed?"

"I said shut up! Why are you even bringing that up? What do you mean by 'allegedly'?"

"Like I said; I was there when it happened. I witnessed the whole thing." He slowly removed his dark purple balaclava, tossing it aside as he revealed a handsome, tanned face with a stubble goatee on his chin and jaw line and long, dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Scout's skin paled as his eyes widened in horror. He dropped his gun in the snow, taking a few steps backwards.

"No way…there's no way! You…you're the guy I killed! How did you survive?" Bane took the opportunity to take a few steps toward Scout, pulling out a gold pocket watch.

"Isn't the Dead Ringer a beautiful thing?" Scout's heart was racing as he felt another panic attack coming on. His mind was brought back to the night before they left Viaduct when Bane confronted him in the training room. He remembered Bane's hand up his shirt feeling his scar. He suddenly realized that Bane was admiring the permanent mark he left on Scout's body forever to remind him of not only the sin he had committed, but now of every single thing the man had ever done to harm him.

Taking advantage of Scout's paralyzed state, Bane closed the gap between them as he grabbed Scout's wrists, attempting to pin him to the rock formation. Scout snapped out of the state of mind he was in and struggled wildly, desperately trying to get away. Bane managed to cross Scout's arms in front of him as he pulled him close with the boy's back against his chest. He successfully wrapped one hand around both of Scout's tiny wrists as he brought the other one to glide across Scout's stomach to rest on his left hip. He brought his head in close to Scout's ear, his hot breath blowing on Scout's neck, causing him to shiver. "Just as the Dead Ringer took me away from the hands of Death himself, so shall I take you away from this wretched place."

"N-No!" Scout dug his heel into Bane's foot, causing the man to loosen his grip. Scout managed to free himself enough to elbow Bane in the stomach before fully pulling himself out of Bane's grasp. Bane tackled Scout to the ground, wrestling with him a bit until he had the boy underneath him, pinning his wrists to either side of his head while straddling his stomach. "Get off me! Let me go!"

"Don't make me do this to you, Daniel!" threatened Bane. "Don't make me hurt you!"

"Get away from him!" screamed Red as he rushed to the scene, The Ambassador in his hand aimed at Bane's head. Knowing full well that Red wouldn't hesitate to shoot him, Bane quickly got off of Scout and backed away as Spy arrived, hurrying to Scout's side as he helped the man he loved into a sitting position. The two clung to each other as Red stepped in front of them protectively, keeping his gun aimed at Bane. "Theo: get Danny out of here! I'll cover your tracks and meet you at your base soon!"

"I'm on it!" affirmed Spy. He held a panicking Scout close as he scooped him into his arms and stood up, darting away from the scene. Red continued to glare at Bane hatefully, keeping the gun aimed at him.

"As easy as it would be to kill you right here and now," began Red, "I'd rather you suffer a slow, excruciating death, feeling the pain that you've caused my son tenfold!"

"As afraid as I should be by that threat, I'm really not," retorted Bane. "To be honest, I don't really care what you think of me. I have no desire to kill you, though."

"What?" Bane gave Red a serious look.

"I'm sure you're well aware by now of Helen's true intentions and what she's really after." Red nodded slowly. "Regardless of my past actions, I do care a lot about your son, and I want to keep him not only for selfish reasons, but also out of her grasp. Knowing you, if she got a hold of him, she'd succeed in getting you to do whatever she wanted and then some. As long as Daniel's out of her reach, not only are you free, but so is the world. The rebelling governments will be able to fully break free and regain their own sovereignty, thus making her and the Mann Brothers like any other CEO of a private company: an ordinary, powerless citizen. She wouldn't be able to harm anyone else dead or alive." Red gave him a skeptical look.

"Why do you suddenly care about the welfare of my son and that of the entire world?"

"I only care about Daniel. I say screw the rest of the world! Though you say you only care about the wellness and safety of your son, I know that deep down, you care about everyone else and what she's doing and want to stop it. You want to be the hero that these leaders need." Red remained silent. Bane ran a hand over his hair, slicking back the loose strands that framed his face. "Keep in mind what I told you the next time you think about killing me."

"Bane, wait!" shouted Red as he took a step forward, but it was too late: Bane had already cloaked himself and fled the scene. Red stared in deep thought at where Bane once stood. After a few moments of silence, he narrowed his eyes in determination and ran as fast as he could toward the BLU base.


	37. The Hunted

_Author's Note: I apologize again for the late update. I've been fangirl squeeing about the new Zelda updates and completely neglected updating. Thanks again for the reviews, and keep 'em comin'!_

* * *

Chapter 37 - The Hunted

Spy was running as fast as he could toward the BLU base carrying Scout in his arms. Though he was still clinging tightly to Spy and shaking, Scout had calmed down enough to think straight. He tugged on Spy's suit collar.

"Theo, wait!" he cried out. "We've got to go back and help Dad! Bane'll kill him!"

"Your father's going to be fine!" assured Spy in-between breaths. He wasn't used to this high level of energy being exerted in carrying someone while running at full speed. "Getting you to safety is my main priority right now!"

"But…!" Before he could continue, Spy skidded to a halt as three men in dark purple suits and sunglasses blocked their path. Spy turned around as he heard three more identical men approach them from behind. The six men moved around to surround the two, aiming their guns at them.

"Victory!" blared The Administrator over the speakers, indicating that BLU had succeeded in capturing all five points. Scout and Theo's eyes widened in horror upon realizing that they were trapped with no way of defending themselves against the armed men. Scout knew the men were there for him and he was terrified that they were going to kill Spy while trying to fulfill their mission. He clung to Spy tighter as he buried his face into Spy's shoulder.

"Somebody help!" he whimpered loudly. Spy held Scout closer as he felt his lover begin to tremble in fear. Spy began to shake, too, knowing that the respawn barrier had been shut off at the end of the match. Spy's eyes widened more as the men began to close in on the two.

"HELP!" screamed Spy, hoping somebody nearby would hear them. His prayers were answered when one of the men collapsed with a bullet wound to his head. Spy looked up at the source of the shot, seeing Sniper reloading his rifle.

"Get down!" he shouted. Spy did as he was told and quickly knelt down on the ground, shutting his eyes tightly and holding Scout protectively. He heard Sniper's rifle go off once more, followed by another of the men's dead bodies collapsing onto the ground. The sound of a revolver shooting reverberated through his ears along with the death cry of a third man. He then heard multiple footsteps darting through the snow in their direction, all shooting off their weapons at the remaining men, who were shooting back at their attackers.

"Heavy!" bellowed BLU's Soldier. "Protect Spy and Scout!"

"Da!" replied the hulking Russian. Spy soon saw darkness through his shut eyes as he felt Heavy pull him and Scout close to him. Heavy took out his shotgun and, with one hand, shot at the attacking men. He killed one as Soldier shot a rocket at two of the others, killing them instantly. Spy cringed as he heard Heavy grunt in pain shortly after hearing a pistol being shot nearby.

After one more explosion and death cry, silence fell on the arena. Spy slowly lifted his head and opened his eyes to look at the death and destruction around him. All six men that had attacked them were lying on the ground dead – half of them were lying in multiple pieces. He looked up at Heavy, who loosened his grip on the two of them, smiling in relief. He looked down at Spy.

"Are Tiny Spy and Scout okay?" Spy nodded slightly, still holding Scout close.

"Yes, thank you," he replied. He looked down at Scout, whom he had noticed had stopped shaking. "Danny? Are you okay?" No response. He shook him lightly. "Danny?" Again, no response. He pulled back a bit to see that Scout had passed out during the altercation. He tried shaking him again, trying to wake him up. "Danny!"

"Ach, was ist los!" cried Medic as he rushed over. Spy momentarily looked around to see that all of BLU and Red were present, then back down at the unconscious Scout in his arms. Medic checked Scout over, then sighed in relief. "He vill be fine. He merely passed out from zhe shock of zhe fight." Medic lifted his head to see Heavy's bleeding right arm. "Mein Gott! Heavy!" Heavy looked at his bleeding arm, then at Medic, giving him an smile.

"I am okay, Doctor," he said assuredly. Medic shook his head, standing up and going around to Heavy's other side, examining the wound. Medic stood up, motioning for Heavy to do the same. Heavy stood up, keeping a hand on his injured arm. As Heavy was guided back to respawn, Red knelt down next to Spy and Scout, brushing some hair gently off of Scout's forehead. He then glanced at Spy.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," replied Spy shakily.

"I'm glad you two are okay," sighed Red in relief. Spy lowered his eyes.

"I'm sorry I didn't return from respawn soon enough," he apologized in a low voice. Red placed a hand on Spy's shoulder, causing Spy to lift his head to look at him. Red gave him a small smile.

"It's okay. I'm not mad. I was able to get there and separate Bane from him and you got him out of his reach, so there's no foul."

"I wasn't expecting those men to show up, though…" Red frowned.

"None of us were. I'm just glad you two weren't hurt and the only casualty on our end was Heavy's injury."

"Where's Bane?"

"He fled. We'll definitely be seeing him again. I was going to chase after him, but I heard your cries for help and wanted to get to you first." The two spies looked up once they heard Sniper rush over, kneeling next to them.

"Is 'e alright?" he asked. Spy nodded.

"He's fine. He just needs to rest." Sniper frowned.

"Are you okay?" Spy began to look a little irritated.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? I'm fine!" Sniper placed a hand on Spy's other shoulder, giving him a disbelieving look.

"You say that, but I can still feel you shaking." Spy's look softened a bit. "Plus you're looking pretty pale and exhausted. You should probably lie down." Spy looked down at Scout, then held him close once more, closing his eyes. Sniper's frown deepened. "Give Danny t'Red. I'll 'elp you up." Spy handed Scout over to Red, who stood up, carrying his son in his arms. Sniper was about to help Spy up before the Frenchman held up a hand, refusing the help. Spy began to stand up on his own, but his legs became shaky before he got half way up. He started feeling incredibly dizzy and nauseous, bringing a hand up to his mouth. Sniper caught him before he fell completely over.

"Mon Dieu, I feel sick…" groaned Spy. Sniper wrapped Spy's free arm around his shoulders and held his hand with his left one while he brought his right hand around to Spy's side. Once he had a good hold of Spy, he helped him stand up straight. Spy leaned on Sniper for balance while the Australian helped him walk toward the base with Red and Scout behind him.

"C'mon, let's get you t'bed."

"Take him to my room, Sniper," ordered Engineer, who had joined the group. "Scout should be awake by the time we get back, so let Spy take the bed." Sniper nodded. Spy could feel his eyelids drooping and his dizziness worsen.

"R-Red," he beckoned.

"Theo, what's wrong?" asked Red worriedly, noticing the bad condition Spy was in.

"Stay with us for a while. We have…important…infor…ma…tion…for…" Before he could finish, his world went black as the sounds around him began to quickly fade.

"THEO!"

* * *

Spy felt like he was floating on a cloud. That cloud soon took the form of a bed. He felt hot and cold, light and heavy, and moving and stationary all at the same time. He felt a cold, wet handkerchief dab at his sweating face, bringing him back to his senses. He slowly opened his eyes, seeing Scout's worried face as the young man tended to him. Scout looked at Spy, then smiled in relief.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed. "How are you feeling?" Spy brought a hand up to his face, feeling a cool washcloth on his forehead. He looked around and saw Red and the rest of the BLU team in the room with him. Upon seeing the boarded-up window, he could tell he was in Engineer's room.

"You gave us quite a scare there, Theo," stated Red. Spy turned his head to look at him.

"Sorry about that," he apologized. Scout gently placed a hand on Spy's flushed cheek.

"How's your stomach?" he asked. Spy looked up at him, taking the hand that was on his face into his.

"It's better. More importantly, are you okay?" Scout nodded.

"I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you right now. Doc said you've got the flu."

"What…?"

"You vere more zhan likely exposed to zhe virus on zhe train ride here," explained Medic. "Zhe stress you endured today flared up your symptoms." Spy brought a hand up to his eyes to cover them. "You vill be staying off of zhe battlefield until you are vell."

"Merde…" he groaned. "How am I supposed to protect Danny on the battlefield if I'm sick?"

"Dell, weren't you successful in getting rid of Danny's pneumonia back at Viaduct with your dispenser?" Engineer nodded.

"Yup! Why don't I turn on the respawn barrier and build a dispenser in here? That should do the trick." Medic crossed his arms, clearing his throat.

"Or you could just turn on zhe barrier and let me use mein Medigun," he suggested. "Zhen I can use it on Heavy's arm, too."

"Doctor, I am fine," insisted Heavy. "It is a minor injury."

"It is an injury nonezheless, and it needs to be healed. Engineer, please turn zhe barrier on." Engineer nodded, grabbing his radio. He switched channels on it.

"Dell to Bill?" he asked into the radio.

"Go ahead," replied Bill on the other end.

"I'm going to turn the barrier on for a few minutes. We have some injured that need to be healed."

"Ten-four." Once the transmission ended, Engineer pulled out the control device from his pocket and pressed the "on" switch. He gave Medic a thumbs-up, giving him the okay to use the Medigun. Medic pulled it out and tried to use it, but the pack on his back made a loud popping noise before it began to smoke. Heavy pulled it off of Medic's back upon seeing the smoke. Medic exhaled the breath he was holding in.

"Danke, Heavy," he sighed. Engineer scratched his chin.

"Sounds like I've got some repairs to do before we fix our teammates. Come with me to the training room with that; all of my tools are in there." Medic nodded as he and Heavy followed Engineer out of the bedroom.

"While Engineer is fixing Medic's equipment," started Soldier, "we need to discuss a few things. First: regarding those men in suits appearing during our battles two days in a row, does anyone have any information as to who the hell they are?"

"They're Helen's special agents," explained Red. "They're her top agents that she trusts with her life. There's only about twenty of them, if I remember correctly, and they have to go through a year or so of training and background checks to get to that level, much like the secret service agents who protect the President of the United States. Considering the fact that we've taken out nine of them to this date, we should expect probably eleven more at most to try and come for Danny. It's highly unlikely that we'd expect more than that; she refuses to train new agents until one retires or dies." Scout frowned, lowering his head.

"Great…" he moaned. Spy gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Scout looked at him, smiling slightly as he squeezed back. Soldier looked at Spy.

"Second order of business: you," continued Soldier. Spy looked at him, getting an uneasy feeling in his stomach. "You are no longer allowed to go around the base alone." Spy quickly sat up.

"What! Why!" he challenged. He quickly regretted moving so quickly as a wave of dizziness hit him. Scout helped him lay back down gently. Soldier crossed his arms.

"Red, Sniper and I were talking about Bane's attack today, and with how determined he is to have Scout for himself, we're afraid he may try to kill you during ceasefires. If you are with Scout, since I know you two want some alone time, have one of us nearby at least in the next room or out in the hallway. If you're in the common areas, that's fine." Spy frowned, turning his head away. Scout squeezed his hand again, causing Spy to look up at the young man. Scout gave him an apologetic look.

"Danny, it's not your fault," assured Spy. Scout lowered his head.

"Yes, it is," he retorted. "If Bane hurt you at all, it'd be because of me. As terrified as I am of him and what he'd do to me, I'm more afraid of losing you to him. You, Dad, Jack…everyone. These other guys I can handle. I can fight back."

"Danny," started Sniper, "I remember 'ow scared you were when you killed those agents yesterday. I know 'ow much you 'ate killin' people permanently." Scout looked at Sniper.

"I hate having their blood on my hands, but…there's nothing I can do about it. I can accept now that it was out of self-defense. It just took me a while to come to terms with that. I know that if I have to kill again, it'll be for the same reasons and I'll be able to handle it better." Sniper smiled slightly, though that smile faded when Scout lowered his head again. "My first 'kill' though…that guy that I thought I killed in Boston was Bane!" The entire room gasped in surprise. "He used a fuckin' Dead Ringer! I know he was given one for that mission and he held onto it this whole time!" Scout stopped himself to calm himself down, feeling another panic attack coming on. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, squeezing Spy's hand. Spy squeezed back, which seemed to help Scout as he was able to calm completely down.

"You should probably talk to Medic when you get a chance," suggested Red. "I think some anti-anxiety pills will help you quell your panic attacks." Scout nodded.

"I'll do it later. Thanks, Dad." Red nodded. Scout looked up at his father for a few moments, then looked at Soldier. "I need to talk to Dad privately about something. I'm sorry, but could you guys leave? Jack can stay until Engie gets back." Sniper blinked.

"You're not mad at me?" he questioned in surprise. Scout shook his head.

"Theo explained everything to me, so no, I'm not mad." Sniper smiled in relief.

"I still owe you an apology, mate."

"Apology accepted, man." Soldier shook his head and smirked.

"Okay, okay, we're getting out of here," he announced. He faced his teammates. "Move out!" Once the rest of the team left the room and Soldier closed the door behind him, Red gave his son a confused look.

"Danny, what's going on? What did you need to tell me?" he asked. Scout stood up and walked over to his father, taking off his dog tags and handing them to him. Red took them into his hands and looked at them, confused. "Why are you giving these back to me? I thought…" Scout cut him off when he handed him a slip of paper. Red opened it up and studied it. Once he connected the dots, his eyes widened in surprise. "Danny! This is…"

"…the code you were looking for," answered Scout in a low voice. "I don't know what the code's for, but Casey said you were looking for one. You had it engraved on your dog tags this whole time." Red brought a hand up to his head, shutting his eyes.

"And my earthquake-induced amnesia made me forget that I did that. I stupidly gave you my tags when you were a toddler not realizing that. Danny, I'm so sorry I inadvertently put you in danger this whole time because of this."

"What's the code for anyway?" Red looked at everyone in the room, took a deep breath, then sighed.

"This doesn't leave this room," he started, speaking barely above a whisper. Scout, Spy and Sniper nodded simultaneously in understanding. "This is what's going on…"


	38. Dark Devices

_Author's Note: Gasp! Another on-time update! Those are pretty rare, I know! Sorry about the cliffhanger before, guys, but here's the end to that...for now. Thanks again for the reviews!_

_Note: If you are French-Canadian and reading this, I apologize ahead of time._

* * *

Chapter 38 - Dark Devices

Scout, Spy and Sniper made themselves comfortable as they awaited Red's explanation of the current situation. Scout helped Spy sit up, propping up the pillows on the bed to allow Spy to lean back on them. He removed the washcloth from Spy's forehead, dipped it in the bowl full of cool water at his bedside, wrung it out, then placed it back on his lover's forehead. He then sat down on the bed next to the Frenchman while Sniper sat on the floor against the bed nearby. Red began to pace back and forth a bit, finishing connecting the dots in his head.

"Do you want the long version or the short version?" asked Red. Scout looked at Spy, then back at his father.

"Considering how tired Theo looks, I think the shorter version will work," he answered. Red nodded.

"Very well. Mind you, most of this information came from my team's Sniper. Thanks to my son's successful efforts in planting doubt into his mind…" Red smiled slightly at Scout, who gave him a smile of his own. "…he was more willing to open up to me about what's really going on. About twenty years ago, Helen hired someone to create a Doomsday device at Nucleus." The eyes of the men listening grew wide in shock. "After having the creator killed, she gave me the code to keep safe, thinking that, since we were dating at the time, I'd be sticking around for a while. She had it engraved on a dog tag to go with the ones from World War II that I always wore underneath my clothes."

"Smart thinking," commented Spy. "But why did she commission a Doomsday device?"

"I'll get to that in a second. Now, she gave this to me during a meeting in Seattle. Upon leaving the meeting, there was a massive earthquake that caused a lot of structural damage. A wall collapsed onto me and landed me in the hospital. I had no memory for the longest time as to what happened during my trip there before the earthquake, so I had forgotten that I had a code engraved on my tags. She never told me what the code was for, so I'm assuming that's why she never told me about it after the accident. To this day, she's never mentioned the Doomsday device to me; I had to find out through Sniper. I knew that her reasons for coming after Danny weren't purely to get revenge on me for leaving her nineteen years ago. When I interrogated him, he said that a number of governments around the world are beginning to resist and revolt against her, trying to break away from her influence. She plans on using that Doomsday device to threaten them to keep doing what she wants." Spy and Sniper's eyes widened further while Scout gave his father a frightened.

"So…when you told me before that she had people watching Mom and I since before I was born, did they also know that you gave me the tags?" he asked uneasily. Red frowned.

"I'm afraid so, Danny. I'm so sorry I unknowingly put you in danger like that."

"Explain t'me, Red," began Sniper, "why she's still tryin' t'get th'rest of us killed?"

"Insubordination, I'm assuming. Since we figured out that both teams are owned by her and she's using us as distractions for gaining Australium and other resources that she needs to maintain power over the world, she doesn't want that information leaked to the press. That would cause revolts against her on a much larger scale than she's capable of dealing with without causing massive death and destruction. We're the only other ones aside from my team's Sniper that knows fully what's going on. Casey only knows I was looking for a code. I'll have to let him know that I found it so he can stop worrying about it."

"So when Bane initially kidnapped Danny disguised as you and tortured him the way he did, he was still working for The Administrator, correct?" questioned Spy. Red nodded in reply. "If she was after Danny for the tags he was wearing, why didn't he just take him to her initially?" Red sighed, bringing a hand up to his face.

"This is difficult to explain, especially since I'm having a hard time accepting it," confessed Red. "In his own sick, twisted way, he truly does care about Danny and wants to keep him out of harm's way. He also knew about the Doomsday device, but it's pretty obvious that he doesn't agree with its existence, seeing as how every single time he was sent to try and capture Danny, he messed around and stalled, waiting for one of us to come to his rescue while simultaneously keeping up the guise of loyalty to her. I'm assuming he had had enough of what was going on and attacked Danny that night before we left Viaduct as a means of escaping her grasp by getting himself fired. Little did he realize that by doing that, he put his own life in danger by defying her while knowing way too much. I learned that after I left her when my girlfriend and unborn child were threatened." Scout stared at his shaking hands in his lap wide-eyed, letting everything he had just heard sink in. He clenched his fists tight enough to turn his knuckled white. Needing to distract himself with something, he stood up and picked up the bowl of water by Spy's bedside.

"The water needs to get changed," he uttered softly. "Be right back." Before Spy could reach out to grab his hand, Scout had already made his way into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Spy frowned deeply, then sighed, leaning against his pillows again and staring at the ceiling.

"Theo?" asked Sniper as he stood up. Spy turned his head to look up at his worried friend. "What's goin' through your mind?"

"Danny, and how terrified and confused he must feel now that he knows the truth behind everything that's happened," replied Spy with a sigh. He turned his head away from Sniper to cough into his arm. "And how guilty I feel right now."

"Why do y'feel guilty?" Spy looked up at him, upset.

"I'm supposed to be protecting him! I should be holding him right now and assuring him that everything will be okay and that I won't let anything happen to him! Instead I'm stuck here in bed, as sick as a dog, while he's taking care of me in the state he's in!" Spy covered his face with his hands. "Dammit! I'm such an idiot!"

"Theo…" Spy removed his hands to look at him. Sniper narrowed his eyes and backhanded Spy across the face, snapping his head to the side. Red quickly stepped forward to try and separate the two, but Sniper held his arm out to stop him, not looking away from Spy. "It's _my_ turn t'knock some sense into _you_! You getting' sick isn't your fault! Engineer's goin' t'get Medic's equipment fixed so he can get you back on your feet and do what you need t'do! You lying here feelin' sorry for yourself isn't helpin'!" Red looked on at the scene in shock; he wasn't expecting Sniper to strike at his friend, especially when the man was bedridden with the flu. What amazed him more was Spy turning his head to smile slightly at Sniper.

"Thank you," spoke Spy. "I needed that." Sniper grinned. Spy's smile quickly faded upon hearing loud thunder outside. "Did…did you guys just hear thunder?" Sniper and Red looked in the direction of the boarded-up window, having heard the same thing. Red furrowed his eyebrows a bit.

"It must be that storm we were expecting in Viaduct," he pondered aloud. "Your Soldier did say that there was a massive storm coming."

"I did see dark clouds on th'horizon durin' th'match today," added Sniper. The three heard another loud boom of thunder, followed by the sound of an explosion and the power cutting out. The three went into a state of panic when they heard the sound of what they assumed was shattered ceramic along with Scout's scream from the bathroom. Sniper pulled out his flashlight and shined it on the bathroom door as Red rushed to it.

"DANNY!" he shouted in a state of panic. He opened the door and surveyed the scene. Scout was on his knees on the ground, holding his head in his hands, trembling and whimpering. The bowl that he had been using to hold water for Spy's washcloth lay on the floor next to him, shattered into hundreds of pieces. Red rushed to Scout's side and knelt down next to him, placing his hands on his shoulders. "Danny, are you okay! Are you hurt!" Scout shook his head as he clung to Red's suit jacket, burying his face into his father's chest as he began to sob. Red held him close, rocking him back and forth gently to try and calm him down. "Did the power outage scare you?" Scout merely nodded.

"Th-they're h-here, a-aren't th-they?" he stuttered. "Th-they're h-here f-for m-me…!" Red shook his head calmly.

"Nobody's here except us, Kiddo. There's a storm outside that knocked the power out. You're safe here." Sniper poked his head in.

"Is 'e alright?" he asked worriedly. Red looked over his shoulder at Sniper.

"He'll be okay," answered Red. "The storm just startled him. I'm sure the others heard Danny's scream, so please try to quell their fears if and when they arrive. He's having another panic attack and having a lot of people in the room is only going to make it worse." Sniper nodded and stepped back out into the bedroom. He turned his full attention back onto his son as he smoothed his hair down. Scout shook his head.

"I-I c-can't h-handle th-this, D-Dad…!" Red held him tighter, resting his cheek on Scout's head. Scout took a deep, shaky breath and slowly exhaled, trying to calm himself down, though his efforts failed. "Bane, The Administrator, the Doomsday device…it's just too much! I'm terrified of Bane, even though he's trying to keep The Administrator away from me…her agents are getting killed trying to get me…you guys are risking your health and your lives trying to protect me…and what am I doing? I'm cowering in a bathroom like a little kid because of a _fucking_ storm!"

"Shh, sh-sh-shh, it's okay, it's okay," assured Red, rubbing Scout's back soothingly as his son began to sob harder. Red frowned deeply. "I understand. You've been through a lot. You're afraid of what may happen if Helen succeeds and what will happen to you and those you love. But you don't need to worry." Scout looked up at Red. Red brought a hand up to cup Scout's face and wipe away his tears. Scout choked back a sob as more tears fell. Red smiled warmly at him. "I'm going to end this. I have what she wants now, thanks to you, and I can use it against her. Pretty soon, this senseless war will be over and we'll be home with your mother and brothers in that quaint home in South Boston." Scout let out one last sob as he wiped away the rest of his tears with the heel of his hand, managing a smile.

"Th-thanks, Dad." Red stood up, helping Scout stand on his own. He carefully guided him out of the bathroom, being mindful of the shattered bowl on the ground. Scout looked into the bedroom and looked upon Sniper and Spy's worried faces. He gave them a small smile. "I'm okay, guys. I'll be okay."

"Red! Are you in there?" shouted Soldier through the closed bedroom door as he knocked on it. Red walked up to the door and opened it to face Soldier. Soldier sighed in relief. "Thank God! I need you as a translator in the living room! You're the only other one who speaks French that isn't sick with the flu!"

"What do you need me to translate?" he inquired.

"We're trying to get an idea of what kind of damage this storm's caused and when we can expect power back at both bases. Demoman and I managed to get the radio to work, but this station is entirely in French! Damn Canadians…!"

"Oh, you mean the 'Fake French'? Yes, I'll join you." Scout managed to chuckle at his father's snide remark. Soldier poked his head into the room, looking mainly at Spy.

"Our teams have agreed to a ceasefire for tomorrow due to the storm. We don't know when we'll get the power back on since we have a downed power line outside, so that means Engineer and Medic's equipment won't work. Get some rest tomorrow so you're well enough to fight again when battles resume." Spy, Scout and Sniper nodded. Red walked over to Scout and pulled him into a hug.

"Just in case I have to head back to my base after helping Soldier, I'll say good-night to you now." Scout nodded, hugging back.

"Night, Dad," he said tiredly. Red kissed the top of his head, then ruffled his hair.

"Get some sleep, okay?" Scout nodded. Red nodded to the other men in the room, then walked out with Soldier, shutting the door behind him. Sniper turned to his two friends.

"I'll stay awake in 'ere until Engineer comes back, so get some sleep, y'two." Spy and Scout nodded. Spy sat up to readjust his pillows so he was lying flat on the bed on his back. Scout walked over to Spy and took the washcloth off of his forehead, checking his temperature.

"I think your fever's almost gone, Theo," he declared. Spy smiled up at Scout.

"Thank you for taking care of me, Danny," he said gratefully. "I hope I haven't been a burden on you." Scout shook his head.

"Nah. Besides, it's my turn to help you out. I'll go wet this again, then I'll hop into bed." Spy nodded as he saw Scout go into the bathroom. Spy shifted himself over in bed so he left enough room for Scout to crawl in. Scout came back into the room and placed the washcloth on Spy's forehead before getting under the covers, making himself comfortable. He snuggled into Spy's side and let his eyelids droop. It didn't take Scout long at all to fall asleep, having worn himself out with his breakdown.

Spy placed the back of his hand against Scout's forehead gently, feeling a slight fever coming on in the boy. He had wondered earlier why Scout wanted to crawl into bed with him while he was still sick. He now realized that Scout was already sick and was hiding it from him. Spy took the washcloth off of his forehead and placed it on Scout's. He kissed the top of Scout's head as he hugged the boy close, smiling slightly.

"There. Now I feel better."


	39. Old Maid

_Author's Note: I apologize for the really late update. I was preparing for an anime convention for Friday (only went one day) and worked over the weekend. I could have updated yesterday, but I took a lazy day._

_I'm seeing some new reviewers along with the usual ones, so thank you, again, for the lovely reviews!_

* * *

Chapter 39 - Old Maid

Red made his way into the living room of the BLU base with Soldier, who was lighting the way with a flashlight. The two walked over to Demoman, who was sitting on the couch engaged in a staring contest with the radio on the coffee table. Red cocked an eyebrow at the scene, a little crept out by Demoman's strange behavior. He walked over to the Scotsman and shook his shoulder lightly.

"Hey, snap out of it," he ordered calmly. Demoman jumped up onto his feet suddenly, nearly knocking Red down in the process.

"What the bloody 'ell!" he shouted. Demoman suddenly hiccupped and flopped back down onto the couch, taking another swig of his scrumpy. Red sighed.

"Wonderful. He's completely inebriated," he sighed sarcastically. Not wanting to deal with the drunk Scotsman, Red picked up the radio and sat down in an armchair, setting the radio down on his lap. Soldier crossed his arms.

"Well?" he asked. "What are they saying?"

"It's a commercial right now, so I'm waiting for a weather report of some sort."

"Well tell that radio to stop with the commercials and get with the reporting!" Red stared up at Soldier like he had grown another head. "…What!"

"You worry me sometimes."

"I was just saying that it needs to…"

"Shh!" interrupted Red, waving his hand as he turned his attention back to the radio. He listened intently to the woman speaking in French. Soldier leaned in, waiting for a response from Red. After listening for a few minutes, Red shut the radio off, turning his attention back to Soldier. "The storm knocked out power to the surrounding area, as well. It's a quick moving storm and should be gone in about a half hour. They're sending crews to repair the power lines immediately." Soldier sighed in relief.

"That's good."

"If I remember correctly," began Engineer as he made his way into the room, "our location is about five miles away from a power plant, so we should be on the top of the list for getting our power restored."

"So if we get our power back before tomorrow, will we still have a battle?" asked Red.

"I think we'll still agree to the ceasefire," answered Soldier. "It'll give those of us that need rest a chance to do so and the rest of us to inspect the outside areas of the base for potential safety hazards and cameras." Red nodded.

"It sounds like the storm's died down a bit, so I'm going to go ahead and return to my base." Soldier and Engineer nodded in understanding. Red narrowed his eyes a bit, speaking in a low voice. "Please increase security around Danny if you can. I'm going to settle things with Helen once and for all. I have something that she wants that I can use against her, and I don't want her to try and use Danny against me."

"What's going on?" questioned Engineer, keeping the same low voice as Red.

"She plans on using a Doomsday device against the rebelling world governments if they don't conform to her bidding, and I have the code that she needs to make it operational." Soldier and Engineer's eyes widened in shock.

"A what?" shouted Soldier. Red quickly hushed Soldier.

"Not so loud!" he scolded in a whisper. Soldier managed to calm down.

"So what do you plan to do?" Red leaned in closely to Soldier and Engineer, speaking in a low whisper.

"If she wants the code, she's going to have to end this war permanently and terminate our contracts. I'll give her a code, but it'll be the wrong one. I plan on destroying the real one."

"Will that even work?" pondered Engineer aloud.

"I sure hope it does. I'll think of a plan B on my way back to my base," stated Red.

"Just be careful, okay? The last thing we need is for you to wind up captured or dead." Red nodded.

"I'll be careful. Just please…protect Danny."

* * *

Red pushed through the storm back to his base. With the events that transpired between the end of the match and when he left the BLU base, he had forgotten that the match ended rather early in the day and it was beginning to turn into evening. As the storm began to lighten up, so, too, did the arena. The grey tones the snow took on soon faded into a brighter orange as the snow began to dissipate. Red couldn't help but notice Coldfront's eerily beautiful scenery.

He made it back to the RED base safely. He was pleasantly surprised to see that the power had returned to his base much sooner than he had expected. Soldier met him at the entrance and informed him that Engineer had gotten the back-up generator to work. Red stood there and wondered why BLU's Engineer hadn't done the same thing at his base. Did they not have a generator? If they did, was it beyond repair? Since half of the team seemed to have been resting, were they just going to wait for the power to be restored? All of those questions ran through Red's mind as he made his way to Scout's room. He pushed those thoughts aside as he knocked on the boy's door.

"Who is it?" asked the boy through the door.

"It's me. May I come in?" requested Red. After waiting for a few seconds, the door opened, allowing him entry into Scout's messy domain, where he and Demoman were playing a game of cards. Red carefully trekked through the dirty clothes on the floor over to his desk chair to have a seat. Scout closed the door and sat back down where he previously was, picking up his cards. "What are you two playing?"

"Old Maid. Want to play in the next round?" Red smiled slightly.

"Sure." Red could tell that the game was about to end when both players had a few cards remaining in their hands. Demoman ended up losing that hand within a minute of Red agreeing to join in the next round. Scout laughed. He picked up the "Old Maid" and handed it to Red. Red took it, then laughed when he recognized the taped-on drawing of The Administrator's face onto the card. "That's priceless! Who drew this?"

"I did!" boasted Scout proudly. Red smirked, then handed the card back to Scout so he could shuffle. Red stood up, then carefully made his way over to the two and sat down on the floor cross-legged.

"You're quite the artist, Casey." Demoman grinned.

"That's what I told 'im!" he proclaimed. "The lad didn't believe me! 'e captured that ol' hag's 'beauty' perfectly!" The three laughed more as Scout dealt the cards. As the three began to play, Scout gave Red a puzzled look.

"So what brings you here?" he bluntly asked. "You never come to visit me. You're usually busy workin' on conspiracy theory stuff or you're at the BLU base." Red took one of Scout's cards and held his hand out to Demoman, looking at Scout.

"I mainly came in here to inform you that I found what I was looking for and that you no longer need to fret about it," explained Red.

"So where was the code?" Red pulled out his son's dog tags as Scout took one of Demoman's cards. When Scout turned his attention to Red and eyed the dog tags, he stared in shock and dropped his cards. "Shit, really! They were with Danny!"

"Do you want to tell us what's goin' on?" questioned Demoman, giving his friend an inquisitive look. Red nodded slightly.

"Now that the code is in my possession and my son's safety is ensured, yes, I will tell you," agreed Red. As Scout picked up his cards and Demoman set his face down on his lap to pay attention to his friend, Red detailed what their Sniper had told him about the Doomsday device and history behind its existence, the code, and the true reason for The Administrator's recent attacks. Scout looked absolutely horrified while Demoman stared angrily at Red. At first Red thought the anger was directed at him for not telling Demoman sooner about what was going on, but his friend's reaction told him otherwise.

"Oh, that bloody wench is goin' to get it!" he snarled. "Red, I bloody 'ope that you give 'er what's comin' to 'er!" Red grinned.

"Believe me, I have every intention of doing so. Once her control over the world's governments has been relinquished, I'm going to personally see to it that she never harms another human being ever again and leaves my family alone forever."

"So," started Scout, taking a moment to pause and collect his thoughts, "are you gonna kill her or somethin'?" Red nodded, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes. I have every intention of doing so. After everything that that woman has done, she doesn't deserve to live."

"When do you plan on confronting 'er?" questioned Demoman.

"Since we're currently on a back-up generator, a teleconference will drain the generator's power quickly. I'll hold off until tomorrow morning when I know we'll have full power back."

"So in the mean time…" started Scout "…ready to get your ass handed to you, Chucklenuts?" Red smirked.

"I'm sorry, but who revealed to everyone that he has the Old Maid?" Red and Demoman laughed as Scout pouted. Scout shoved his hand in Red's face, causing the older man to lean back a bit.

"Just pick a damn card, will ya!" Red calmed his laughter down enough to focus on the game. He tried to read Scout's eyes as he reached for a card. He decided to move his hand a bit over each card, seeing it he could elicit any kind of reaction from his younger teammate. He was quite amazed at Scout's poker face; he was unable to get him to change his expression. As Red unknowingly grabbed the Old Maid and began to pull it out of Scout's hand, a large rock slammed through the window, shattering the glass and landing on the ground in-between the men. Once their hearts stopped racing from the startling event, Red spotted a note attached to the rock by a rubber band. He pulled the slip of paper off of the rock and opened it up. His eyes widened once he read the contents of the note. He dropped it on the ground and immediately stood up, running out of the room.

"Wait here, you two!" he ordered. Demoman and Scout stared at the now opened door dumbfounded. Demoman gingerly picked up the note. Scout poked his head over Demoman's shoulder as the two read the note in shock.

_Leon,_

_Your presence is requested in the conference room immediately._

_-The Administrator_

They looked at each other in shock, then at the door once more when they heard a large number of footsteps running down the hallway. Stopping in front of the open door were Soldier, Heavy and Medic. Scout and Demoman quickly stood up, minding the broken glass on the floor.

"Scout! Demoman!" shouted Soldier. "Grab your weapons and help us search the base! Sniper's missing again!" The two in the bedroom gasped. Between Red's tale, the note meant for Red and their now missing traitorous teammate, things were quickly going from scary to downright horrifying.

"What about Red?" contested Demoman. "He's in the conference room talkin' to The Administrator right now!"

"Red can handle himself! We need to find Sniper STAT!"

* * *

Scout woke up, feeling a washcloth on his forehead. He sat up carefully and removed it, looking at the sleeping Spy next to him. Scout checked Spy's temperature and compared it to his own. Neither were running a fever and Scout was feeling fine. He crawled out of bed, making sure that he didn't wake up Spy. Engineer was sitting at his desk, going over some blueprints with the help of his flashlight. He looked up from his work and looked at Scout.

"Can't sleep?" he asked quietly. Scout nodded slightly.

"Where's Jack?" he enquired.

"His room. We switched places while you and Spy were sleeping." Scout stretched, then put his shoes on.

"I might as well clean up the broken bowl in the bathroom. Hey, Engie? Could I borrow the flashlight from you?" Engineer frowned.

"Actually, could you step out into the hallway with me for a moment? There's something I need to ask you." Scout nodded slowly, wondering what his roommate wanted to talk to him about. The two stepped out into the hallway. For Spy's safety, Engineer locked the door while they were in the hallway. Engineer crossed his arms and looked up at Scout. "Your father told us about the Doomsday device and the code. I just need to know if you remember the code at all or if you have any form of it on you." Scout shook his head.

"No. I gave everything to Dad. I don't remember what was on the tags. Why do you ask?"

"For your safety. Your father asked us to increase security around you, and I wanted to know if you had anything on you relating to the code that could be used against him."

"I don't have anything on me relating to the code. Like I said, Dad has everything." Engineer nodded.

"Good to know." He turned to the door and tried to open it, but remembered that it was locked. He searched his pockets for his key, but couldn't find one. He slammed his fist into his hand angrily. "_Fuck!_ I locked my keys in there!" Scout's eyes widened. Engineer _never_ swore like that.

"Spy Check!" Scout quickly swung a punch at Engineer. The Texan, however, quickly turned to face Scout and caught his fist in his hand, tightening his grip on it. He grabbed Scout's other wrist and slammed his back against the wall opposite of the door. In the midst of the scuffle, a purple smoke emitted from Engineer as the sound of a cloak disengaging resonated in his ears. When Scout looked up, a man in a dark purple suit and black sunglasses was standing where Engineer once did, pinning him against the wall.

"Wrong move, Kid," he threatened. Scout's eyes widened in horror as he stared up at his captor.


	40. Beginning of the End

_Author's Note; If you couldn't tell by the title of the chapter, this story is ending soon. But don't fret! I'm currently working on both a prequel and a sequel! Crystal124 and I have also done a collaborative fanfic that takes place after both of our stories, so look for that once her story is finished. In the meantime, I'll be releasing chapters for the prequel._

_Keep those reviews coming, and thank you all for your support!_

* * *

Chapter 40 - Beginning of the End

Red darted down the hallway to the control room. As he ran, he played out his strategy in his head. He plotted about holding up the dog tags and threatening to destroy them if she didn't comply with his demands. He'd then have his team's Engineer create a new set of dog tags with a fake code on them to give to her, thus assuring everyone's safety.

His heart began to race when he began to think about what would happen if she decided to go after them should his plan succeed. How could he protect his friends and teammates? How could he assure his girlfriend's and son's safety? How would he be able to get close enough to her to kill her without endangering anyone else? As grateful as he was for the help he had received, he wanted to finish what he started alone. He no longer wanted his son nor his friends and teammates to suffer for his actions.

_This is it, Helen_, he thought to himself. _This ends tonight!_

He opened the door to the conference room and slammed it shut behind him. He scurried over to the controls, trying to figure out how to begin the teleconference. He cursed himself for never learning how to operate the machinery; he had always relied on either Soldier or Engineer to get it to work. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the machine turned itself on, revealing The Administrator's face on the projector screen. Red snapped his head in the direction of the screen, narrowing his eyes.

"Helen…" he hissed. The Administrator smirked.

"Hello, Leon," she greeted, her voice dripping with venom. "I see you got my message." Red gave her a sly grin.

"I did, and with perfect timing. I've found what you've been looking for." The Administrator's eyebrows shot up in approval.

"Excellent work! I see you remembered our little exchange from twenty years ago then?" Red pulled out his son's dog tags and held them up by the chain as proof. "Excellent…now, to arrange a meeting time and place for…"

"Not so fast!" he interrupted. The Administrator's expression morphed into one of disgust. "You're not getting this for free. You're going to have to earn this."

"What do you want?" she questioned, annoyed.

"I have a few requests. Should you refuse these requests, I will have the code destroyed. The lettering on here is heavily damaged from years of abuse from a certain teenage boy and I can make it completely illegible."

"I'd like to see you try…" Red grinned, whipping out his butterfly knife. He took the dog tag into his hand and scratched at the surface with the knife. He made sure to hold it up close to the screen so she could witness the unruly mark being carved into the metal. She narrowed her eyes hatefully at him. "…Very well. You've made your point. What are your requests?"

"Just a few. For starters, you're going to answer some questions for me." He waited for The Administrator to nod in confirmation before he continued. "First: I'm well aware of your control over every government on the planet through your ownership of both RED and BLU. Did the Mann brothers acquire that kind of power, or did you exploit them to get that power for yourself?" The Administrator grinned wickedly.

"Those old men would agree to anything I tell them if they thought it would help them gain the upper hand against the other. Their father, Zephaniah, gave them considerable influence with the land he had acquired throughout his lifetime. Land equals power, Leon. It's the most valuable resource on this planet next to oil, money, precious gems and metals – including Australium. He who owns the land controls what happens on it. Since those old men are too feeble, imbecilic and blind in their own hatred and jealousy to control their companies, I was able to step in and manipulate both of them into gaining influence over the world's governments. Since I oversee both companies, I oversee all governments and their land and resources."

"Yes, but why? What could you possibly gain by ruling the world? Why do you want so much power?" The Administrator laughed.

"Why, you ask? Because I can! I wanted to see if I could succeed in controlling everything and I did! And do you want to know something?" Red gave her a curious look as her own became oozing with evil. "I enjoy every minute of it. I love having power over everything and everyone. I love knowing that if I want something, I can instantly get it. I choose who lives and who dies in this war that I've continued since the nineteenth-century. In essence, I'm like a God, and once these rebelling governments are scared back into their place, they will fear me like one and never rise up against me again!"

"Then are you the owner of the third life-extending machine!" It was The Administrator's turn to give Red a confused look.

"There's a third one? I thought the Mann brothers were the only ones with them?" Red studied her eyes carefully, looking for any signs of bluffing or lying. He knew her well enough to know when she was telling the truth or not. This time, she was being honest with him. Red scowled.

"That's another mystery for another time," he concluded. "Getting back to the issue at hand, you are going to do three more things for me if you want the code for the Doomsday device." The Administrator frowned deeply, but nodded, giving Red her undivided attention. "First: you are going to relinquish your power over the world's governments.. Second: you will end this senseless war that the Mann brothers started so long ago. Finally: you will stay away from my family and never bring harm to them again!" The Administrator glanced to the side for a moment, then turned her attention back to Red, grinning wickedly.

"I refuse."

"What?"

"As of a moment ago, you are now no longer in a position to bargain with me." She leaned forward in her chair, resting her elbows on her knees and intertwining her fingers in front of her, resting her chin on them. "Tell me, Leon…do you know where your son is?"

"Safe in his base with beefed-up security." The Administrator's grin widened.

"Are you sure about that?" Red's eyes widened as he gasped. He looked behind him at the door as he heard the sound of a helicopter outside.

"Oh no…Danny!" he shouted as he ran to the door. He opened it and darted into the hallway, running faster than he had ever run in his life. He could hear the wicked laughter of The Administrator blaring through the speakers of his base and echoing down the halls. He pushed himself to run even faster, hoping that he could make it outside to stop whatever plan Helen had going on. The roar of the helicopter grew louder the closer he got. Helen's laughter grew louder and higher in pitch once he got outside. He skidded to a halt in the snow when he saw the helicopter in question hovering above the ground at the central control point with a rope ladder dangling from the open doors of its side. On the bottom of the ladder was one of The Administrator's agents holding his struggling son. "DANNY!"

"Dad! Help me!" cried Scout, trying desperately to get out of his captor's grasp.

"Hang on! I'm coming!" Red quickly ran toward the rising helicopter, leaping onto crates to give him leverage to jump up and grab the bottom of the rope ladder a few rungs below where his son was. Scout managed to free one of his hands, reaching down to try and grab his father's hand. Red started to climb up as best as he could, drowning out Helen's laughter from the speakers and ignoring the central control point slowly getting smaller the higher they climbed in altitude. His fingers nearly touched Scout's before Helen's agent kicked Red's hand away and stomped on his face. Red lost his handling of the ladder and plummeted down, landing face down on the roof of the control point.

"DAD!" screamed Scout, not seeing his father moving. Red looked up, reaching out to his son in a failed effort, watching as the helicopter quickly gained altitude and flew away. Scout reached out more, knowing that his efforts were useless. He felt hot tears pouring down his cheeks. "_**DAD!**_"

"_**DANNY!**_" roared Red in anguish. Once the helicopter was out of sight, he slammed his fists onto the roof and let out a frustrated scream. "Dammit! DAMMIT!"

"You much choose which is more important to you now, Leon," taunted The Administrator over the speakers as both teams made their way out of their bases to the central control point. "The fate of the world and your son rest in your hands now, but you can only choose one!" She let out one more drawn out maniacal laugh before cutting off the transmission. Red rested his forehead on the roof as he shut his eyes tightly, a few tears streaming down his cheeks onto his balaclava.

"Danny…! Dammit, I should have kept you with me! I shouldn't have let you out of my sight!" Both teams approached the point, looking up at the defeated Red on the roof. Spy climbed on the crates up to the roof with the BLU Engineer. Engineer placed a hand on Red's shoulder gently. Red lifted his head up to look at his friend's apologetic look.

"Red…I'm so sorry," apologized Engineer. "That agent knocked me out in the training room and disguised himself as me when you told Soldier and Demoman what was going on." Red's look softened a bit, then he looked at Spy, who gave him an equally apologetic look.

"I apologize, as well," he said solemnly. "I failed to protect him in my weakened state. I was sound asleep when Danny was taken." Red lowered his head in defeat.

"I should have been more careful," choked Red, taking in a deep breath and exhaling shakily. "I…I failed. I want to get my son back, but…her control over everything has to end. I thought I knew how to end everything and keep everyone safe…but it seems that I no longer can. I'm sorry…" Spy grabbed Red's shoulders firmly with his hands.

"Red, look at me," he commanded. Red lifted his head to see Spy's determined look. "We'll figure this out. We'll find a way to get Danny back and stop The Administrator for good. We'll do it as two teams united as one." Red stared at Spy in amazement. Spy gave him an assuring smile. "We'll do it together."

"Theo…" breathed Red. Red pulled out his son's dog tags and looked at them in his hand. His thumb traced over the tags gently as he stared at them. After a few moments, he looked back at Spy. "…thank you." Engineer and Spy stood up, each offering Red a hand. Red grabbed both of their hands and stood up with their help. Red looked down at the remaining RED and BLU members. They were looking at him with battle-ready expressions, ready to retrieve their stolen comrade. RED's Scout suddenly blinked.

"Uh…how are we going to get there?" he questioned aloud. RED's Soldier cringed, then shook his shovel at his young teammate.

"Dammit, Scout!" he scolded. "You killed the mood!"

"What? It's a legitimate question! We need a way to get here if we're goin' to get Danny back! There ain't no train, both camper vans are under fifty bajillion feet of snow at Viaduct, and the only other ways of gettin' there are with two busted-ass jeeps in the civilian areas with no fuel!" Red cursed under his breath. Scout was right; there was no way to get to where The Administrator was holding his son. He sighed as he pulled off his balaclava and ran a hand through his graying hair.

"We need a miracle," he confessed, downtrodden once more. As if on cue, he heard the sound of a helicopter once more. He looked in the direction the sound was coming from and saw a helicopter flying towards them. In the cockpit of it at the controls was RED's Sniper. Dangling from the rope ladder on the side was none other than Bane, waving to them with one hand while gripping one of the rungs with the other. Red's eyes widened in surprise. "Bane!"

"Hop on!" shouted Bane. "We're going to Nucleus!"

"You're _helping_ us?"

"Are you surprised after that little talk we had?"

"I guess I shouldn't be!"

"There's a train headed your way, too! There's only room for one more person on here! The rest of you will have to take the train!" Red looked at Spy and Engineer.

"I'll go with them on the helicopter. It'll get me to Danny faster." Engineer gave him a skeptical look.

"Red, can you even trust him?" he questioned. "After everything he did to your son?" Red narrowed his eyes.

"I don't have a choice right now. Besides…I could tell in his eyes that he genuinely wants to help us." Engineer and Spy slowly nodded, understanding the situation they were all in.

"Just be careful, okay?" Red nodded.

"I will."

Spy and Engineer climbed off of the roof of the control point while Red grabbed the rope ladder, climbing up it. Bane had already climbed inside and helped Red in once the older man climbed high enough. They pulled the rope inside of the helicopter and shut the doors, making their way to the cockpit. Bane sat down in the seat next to Sniper.

"Set a course straight for Nucleus," ordered Bane. Sniper nodded.

"Roger that," replied the Australian. Red sat in the seat on the other side of Sniper, looking at him. Sniper glanced at Red, then went back to paying attention to what he was doing. "Leon…consider this my act of redemption." Red nodded, smiling slightly.

"Thank you for helping me save my son," said Red. Sniper nodded.

"Thank you for opening my eyes." Red looked down at the dog tags still in his hand. He squeezed them tightly as he lifted his head once more, a determined look forming on his face as he looked out the windshield.

"Hang on, Danny…I'm coming!"


	41. Defeat

_Author's Note: So, so sorry for the late update! I've been pretty exhausted lately from work, so I took some time to relax. Thanks again for the reviews!_

_P.S. Happy Belated Independence Day to my fellow Americans!_

* * *

Chapter 41 - Defeat

The Administrator stood on the same floor as the control point in Nucleus. She admired the massive orb of swirling energy above the point with her arms crossed, grinning. She preemptively felt triumphant in her efforts to get the code back. She knew that Red would try to pull a fast one on her once he found out her plans, but she was always two step ahead of him and intended to keep it that way. She preferred to have people try to bargain with her and not the other way around.

She turned around and smirked as she heard a set of footsteps along with shouts of protest from her bargaining tool. She nodded in greeting once she saw two of her agents drag in a struggling BLU Scout. Each stood on either side of him, restraining his arms. Scout stopped struggling once he saw The Administrator in person. He glared hatefully at her as she approached slowly, her boots making calm thumps on the ground as she walked.

"Hello, Daniel," she greeted venomously. "It's been a while since we last met in person. Six months, if I remember correctly."

"Let me go, you sadistic bitch!" shouted Scout. The Administrator roughly backhanded him across the face, snapping his head to the side.

"Don't you take that tone with me, young man!" she threatened. "Unless you want your father to find your dead body lying in front of him, I suggest you behave!" Scout turned his head back to glare at her, remaining silent. She smiled in satisfaction. "Much better…Now, I know your father has the code on him and that he'd willingly give it to me to assure your safe return. However, I also know he'd give me the wrong code to foil my plans. That's where you come in, Daniel. I want you to tell me what the real code is."

"For the last time, I honestly don't remember it! So both you and your cronies need to stop asking me!" The Administrator brought a hand up to Scout's cheek to caress it, sending shivers down Scout's spine. She looked him in the eyes, then frowned, knowing that Scout was telling the truth. She slowly traced her hand down to Scout's jaw, dragging her nails lightly across his skin, causing Scout's heart to race in a panic.

"You look so much like your father," she breathed in amazement as she glided her hand over toward Scout's chin, tracing her thumb over his lips. Scout couldn't take it anymore and bit her hand. She let out a pained gasp as she pulled her hand away, clamping down on where Scout bit her. She suddenly shot her hand out and grabbed Scout's throat tightly, choking him. He let out a pained gasp as she brought her face up to his, leering at him dangerously. "Strike two, Daniel! One more and you're a dead man!" Scout's eyes widened in horror not only for the frightening look the woman gave him, but also from him being unable to breathe. She roughly let go of him and turned around to begin walking away. Scout nearly lost his footing as he leaned forward to cough, gasping for air. The two agents restraining him had to hold him up as he caught his breath. The agents came to attention when The Administrator snapped her fingers, ready to take her orders. "Take him to the control point!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" replied the agents simultaneously. They dragged Scout over to the control point. One of the agents let go of Scout and quickly elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. After roughly throwing him to the ground, the two agents quickly ran along one of the catwalks to stand by The Administrator's side. She pressed a button on a remote in her hand. When Scout regained his composure and stood up, he saw all three catwalks retreating into the platform he was standing on and the ceiling and doors lower onto it, trapping him inside of his new prison. He quickly ran to the quickly disappearing exit, but stopped right in front of the door once he realized he couldn't escape. He began to pound frantically on the door.

"Let me out!" he screamed. "Let me out of here!"

"You might as well get comfortable in there, Daniel," boomed The Administrator over the speakers. "Once I activate the machine, your death is imminent!" Her maniacal laughter echoed in the chamber, sending him in to a state of panic. He pounded his fists against the door and screamed for another few minutes before sinking down to his knees, sliding the sides of his fists against the door as he rested his forehead on it. He shut his eyes tightly as he broke down into hard sobs.

"Dad…! Help me…!"

* * *

Red cleaned his revolver in his seat as he impatiently waited for the helicopter to get to Nucleus. He would occasionally look out the windshield, glance at the silent Sniper and Bane, then go back to cleaning, mostly to help focus his mind and pass the time. Red couldn't help but be bothered by the company he was in. While he was grateful for the free ride to Nucleus, he had to question their motives. He knew what – or rather who – Bane wanted, but he was unsure of what Sniper wanted to gain from helping him. Come to think of it, if Bane wanted Scout for himself, then why didn't he try to rescue him instead?

"Say, Sniper…" said Red, breaking the silence.

"Call me Austin," interrupted Sniper.

"Austin…what made you turn on Helen and want to help me?"

"I realized that she was only using me t'get th'code. 'ad she genuinely cared for me, she wouldn't have let me rot in th'RED's basement. Bane was th'one who got me out of there." Red glanced over at Bane, who was admiring his reflection in his own revolver.

"And you, Bane…why didn't you go after Danny yourself?" Bane pocketed his revolver and looked at Red.

"Well, if you want me to be perfectly honest, it was to save my own skin," confessed Bane. "I love Daniel, yes, but I also love living. If I show my face there, I know I'd be killed on the spot. I'm of no use to Daniel if I'm a holey body, if you know what I mean." Red nodded slowly. "Now, if _you_ were the one to go in there, she actually needs you alive, meaning that you have a better chance of saving him than I do. I just want him out of there, and I have to rely on you to make that happen." Red nodded once more in understanding. Bane cocked an eyebrow. "My turn to ask you a question. Why did you agree to come with us? For all you know, we could still be working for The Administrator and sending you into a trap. We could just be taking you somewhere to kill you and dispose of your body."

"I know you don't plan on doing either of those things," answered Red calmly. "I could tell by the look in your eyes from earlier today that you – in your own sick, twisted way – truly care about Danny." Bane couldn't help but grin at Red's comment. Red stared down at his gun, The Ambassador, in his hands, tracing his fingers lightly over the engraving of his girlfriend on the barrel of the gun. "I failed to protect my son. Because of my carelessness and overconfidence, I allowed him to fall into Helen's clutches. I want to save my son and bring him home with me to his mother and brothers where he belongs, no matter the cost. If it means teaming up with my enemies to work toward a common objective, then so be it."

"Hey, as long as I stay alive, I'm okay with that." Red gave Bane a warning look.

"For the record, I still plan on killing you, but I'll hold off until I get my son back. I want to kill you for everything that you've done to him to hurt and traumatize him." Bane stared at Red for a moment, then looked out the front windshield, hoping to ease the tension between them.

"The scar on his back was me following orders. Everything I did after that was to avoid following through with The Administrator's diabolical scheme. What I did to him after my termination was all to get you to step up and stop her," he explained evenly. "I don't regret what I did…but I am sorry for the pain I caused him."

"So my theory was right; you were delaying your mission so we could stop you," commented Red. Bane looked at him and nodded. Sniper cleared his throat to interrupt them.

"I'm going t'land this thing two miles away so you can make it in undetected," announced Sniper as he began his descent. "You're going t'be going in alone. Bane will wait with th'elecopter while I meet up with RED and BLU at th'nearby train station."

"When both teams get there, I want you to send a specific team to the entrance to Nucleus to be on stand-by," ordered Red.

"Who d'you want?"

"Tavish, Casey, Theo, Jack, Dell, Jane, BLU's Heavy and both Medics." Sniper nodded.

"Understood. By th'time you get t'Nucleus on foot, th'train should be at th'station," he explained as he landed the helicopter. The men stood up and made their way outside. Red started to head in the direction of Nucleus before Bane grabbed his arm. Red stopped and turned to face him.

"Leon…" began Bane, "…good luck, Mr. Hero." Red nodded, smirking.

"Thanks," he replied. Bane slowly let go of Red's arm as he watched the man run toward Nucleus. He stood there watching Red run off as Sniper made his way to the train station. Once he knew he was alone, he sat down on the floor of the helicopter in the doorway, letting his legs dangle off the side. He looked out at the horizon, watching the last slivers of orange from the sunset fade away into night. He looked back out at where Red ran off to, then looked down at the ground. He narrowed his eyes and hopped out of the helicopter.

"Oh, to Hell with this!"

* * *

Red ran the entire two miles to Nucleus, stopping only once when he arrived to hide behind a large tree to catch his breath and survey the exterior of the base. He found it odd that the security was virtually non-existent. Not wanting to take any chances of hidden sentry guns or cloaked agents, he switched his cloaking watch out for the Cloak and Dagger and cloaked himself, making his way into the base. He would stop often to regain his charge as he remained cloaked and look around. Considering how he hadn't seen a single guard or agent inside, he assumed they were all around The Administrator to give her extra security.

As he maneuvered his way around the base, he thought long and hard about how he was going to free his son. He didn't have any explosives with him, so he couldn't blow open any doors – he didn't want to risk hurting himself or his son anyway. He had a paperclip in his pocket that he used for picking locks, but he wasn't sure if there were any to pick in the first place. He needed to see Scout and his surroundings first before making a final decision. He would have to think on his toes, which he, admittedly, wasn't very good at. He was more of a tactician in his mind.

He made his way into the main area of the base and gasped when he saw the Doomsday device the center of the large room. His jaw dropped when he saw the swirling orb of energy at the top of the machine. Directly below it was a closed chamber. Holding everything up was a large metal and concrete pillar tunneling down deep into the ground surrounded by a deep pit. He noted that one wrong move could mean falling below to certain death.

As he was lost in his thoughts, he was unaware that one of The Administrator's agents had snuck up behind him and grabbed him, restraining his arms to his sides and decloaking him upon contact. Red let out a surprised gasp as he felt himself being lifted up off of the ground by about six inches and being carried over to The Administrator. His captor set his feet back down on the ground, but kept a tight grip on him as he struggled to get himself free. The Administrator grinned wickedly as she approached Red.

"My, my, Leon. I'm amazed at how weak you've become," she taunted. Red glared hatefully at her.

"Where's Danny?" he demanded. The Administrator wagged her finger.

"Ah-ah-ah, Leon. Tell me what the code is, first." Red sighed in defeat.

"…The dog tags are in my right pocket in my jacket. Take them, then let him go!" The Administrator reached her hand into Red's pocket, pulling out the dog tags. She inspected the one that had what she could see of the code on it. She narrowed her eyes a bit.

"You weren't fibbing when you said it was damaged. I can barely make out the code. No matter." She snapped her fingers, getting her four agents with her (including the one holding Red) to attention. "Throw him into the pit."

"Wait! What about Danny? Let my son go, Helen!" The Administrator let out a high-pitched laugh before giving Red a sadistic grin.

"You can't do anything now that I have the code! Your son is in that closed chamber where the control point is. As soon as I activate the machine, the radiation that will seep into the chamber will kill him!" Red gasped as his eyes widened in horror.

"NO! DANNY!" he screamed as he was dragged off by the agents. He fought desperately to get out of their grasp, but it was a losing battle with it being four against one. He was about to give up hope when he heard a gunshot resonate in his ears. The agent that was holding him from behind suddenly collapsed with a bullet wound to the head. Taking advantage of the other three agents' stunned state, he forced himself down onto the ground and pulled out his Ambassador, aiming up and shooting one of the agents in the face. He slammed the barrel of the gun against the third agent, sending the man toppling over the edge into the pit. Red heard another gunshot and watched the final agent collapse with a bullet to the chest. Red looked up and was surprised to see Bane standing in the doorway, lowering his revolver with a grin. "Bane? I thought you were staying at the helicopter!"

"I changed my mind!" he shouted back. "I'll take care of the other agents! You stop The Administrator from activating that machine!" Red nodded and quickly ran in the direction The Administrator did. He skidded to a halt when he saw that all entrances leading up to the top floor were sealed shut. He cursed to himself in French, then looked up at the RED control room above him. He saw The Administrator standing in it, slowly punching in a code onto a computer facing the window and the Doomsday machine. He gripped The Ambassador tightly, aiming at her. If he could hit her anywhere to stop her, even if he couldn't kill her, he'd be happy. He pulled the trigger and was amazed that he managed to shatter the glass and hit her in the shoulder, causing her to collapse and drop not only the dog tags, but the remote for the chamber, as well. Both items fell from the control room and down onto the ground. He dove forward and caught both items before the remote had a chance to break on the ground. He looked up and saw The Administrator leaning over the edge and looking down at Red in pure rage. He lowered his head to glance at the dog tags in his hand, narrowing his eyes at them. Not wanting the code to fall into the wrong hands again, he hurled the tags down into the pit.

"NO!" roared The Administrator. As he ran back toward the chamber, he hit the button to open it up, showing Scout lying down on his side on the control point. Red jumped over a gap onto the catwalk before it could even make it to the other side. He ran as fast as he could to Scout's side, kneeling next to him and scooping his upper body into his arms, shaking him lightly.

"Danny! Wake up!" he pleaded. Scout groaned and opened his eyes, looking up at Red.

"Dad?" he asked timidly. Once he regained his senses and realized that it was indeed his father, he tightly wrapped his arms around Red's neck. "Dad!"

"I'm here, Kiddo," assured Red, hugging Scout tightly. He helped his son stand up, then grabbed his hand and started running back down the catwalk toward the exit on the BLU side. "C'mon! We're getting out of here!"

"Get back here, Leon!" screamed The Administrator from the top of the chamber. Scout looked up at her over his shoulder as he ran, his eyes widening. He looked back ahead at his father.

"Dad, what about The Administrator!" he questioned, frightened.

"I destroyed the code, so she can't do anyone anymore harm! Bane's getting rid of the rest of the agents and our teams should be outside of the base by now!" Scout's eyes widened more.

"Bane's here?" he squeaked in a panic, freezing himself in place. Red had to stop running to go back and get his son.

"He's on our side right now!" he assured his son. "Don't worry about him! Just focus on escaping!" Before they could move any further, they heard a gunshot coming from behind them. Both men dove onto the ground to avoid being hit by the bullet that hit the wall ahead of them. They both stood up and looked behind them. Somehow, The Administrator had gotten off of the top of the chamber and onto the catwalk and shot at them with a pistol. Before she could shoot the gun again, Red shot back at her with The Ambassador, hitting her square in the chest. Her eyes became as wide as saucers as she let out a pained gasp, staggering backwards and gripping her bleeding chest. She soon fell onto her back, not moving. Scout stared wide-eyed at the scene, then at Red.

"Is…i-is she dead?" he asked cautiously. Red slowly nodded in realization of what he had done.

"I believe she is…if not, she will be soon," he replied carefully. He looked at his son, who was taking deep breaths and exhaling slowly to calm himself down.

"It's over…it's finally over…" Red placed a hand on Scout's shoulder, grabbing his attention. Scout looked up at his father.

"We're not out of the woods yet. We still have to get out of here, and there could still be more of her agents running loose." Scout nodded quietly as the two began to run once more.

After running for what seemed like an eternity, they made it outside, the winter night's wind coursing through their bodies almost welcomingly. The father and son faced each other and hugged each other tightly. Red rubbed Scout's back and kissed the top of his head as Scout rested his head on Red's chest as his body shook both from the cold and from the ordeal he had just escaped from.

"Thank you, Dad," spoke Scout gratefully. Red kissed his son's head again.

"I'm so glad you're safe," he whispered. "I'm so sorry I let this happen."

"It's not your fault. I'm just glad it's finally over…"

"Me, too, Son. Me…" He let his voice trail off when he lifted his head and stared at the entrance to the base. Scout looked up at Red's terrified look, his back to the base.

"Dad…?" questioned Scout curiously. Red suddenly threw Scout down to the ground. The boy landed on his side, then sat up. Everything seemed to go in slow motion for him as he witnessed the bloodied Administrator – whom he had thought was dead – standing in the doorway of the entrance and firing her pistol at his father. He witnessed the bullet go through Red's chest in horror. He felt the color leave his skin as Red collapsed onto his back in the snow, staring up at the night sky emotionless. The Administrator collapsed onto the ground once more, no longer moving. Scout quickly rushed over to Red, clinging to his suit in a panic. "No! Nononononononono! Dad! Don't do this to me! Don't do this to me, Dad! DAD! _**DAD!**_" As he shook his father, his whole body began to tremble when the man wouldn't respond. Scout let out a blood curdling scream as he buried his face into his father's shoulder, crying hard and loudly.

"Danny!" shouted Spy in a panic as he and the rest of the team Red had requested rushed over. Both Medics rushed over to Red's side as Spy pried a hysterical Scout away from the scene, holding his sobbing lover tightly and rocking him back and forth, rubbing his back to try and pacify him. BLU's Medic motioned for his Heavy to come over.

"He's still alive!" announced the German. "Ve need to get him to an infirmary so ve can operate on him!" Demoman quickly ran up to the group with his team's Sniper and Scout.

"Bane's gone and the base is all clear!" announced the Scotsman. He looked ahead at The Administrator's body. "And it looks like she's a goner."

"Nevermind her!" ordered Soldier. "We have a dying man here! Get him inside!"


	42. Finale

_Author's Note: Well, guys, this is the final chapter! It was originally going to be two chapters, but they were both so short that I decided to combine them. Thank you all so much for your continued support and reviews! I'm so happy to see how many people enjoyed this story! I will be posting more in the future, so you'll be seeing more of Red, Danny, Theo and their friends!_

Chapter 42 - Finale

Both RED and BLU were told by their teams' Medics to wait in RED's respawn room while they performed surgery on Red. They knew the procedure to remove the bullet from Red's chest would take a long time, so both Engineers took that time to check the respawn barrier to see if there was a way to get the Medics' Mediguns working. Unfortunately, they discovered that the barrier was damaged beyond repair. They returned to the respawn room to wait with their teammates. A group decided to take their mind off of things by playing cards in the corner. The rest were either pacing nervously or chatting with one another to occupy their minds.

Spy was sitting on a bench, holding Scout close and gently rubbing his back as he lightly rocked him back and forth. Scout was staring blankly at the floor as he clung to Spy, resting his head against his chest. Spy would occasionally bring a hand up to wipe away a stray tear that would fall down the young man's cheek, eliciting no response from him as he did so. He frowned deeply at Scout's uncharacteristic silence and lack of energy, though he understood very well why. He wished that he could do more to help him take his mind off of things and alleviate his worries. He looked up when BLU's Sniper approached them, sitting on Spy's other side with an equally concerned expression.

"'ow are you doin', Danny?" he asked worriedly as he brought a hand to the top of the boy's head to smooth his hair down. Scout tightened his grip on Spy's suit and buried his face into his chest, shutting his eyes tightly and taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"Dad…" whimpered Scout quietly. Spy hugged him tightly and kissed the top of his head, rubbing his back again.

"Shh, it'll be okay," he assured him. "Both Medics will take care of him and make him better." As if on cue, both Medics returned to the respawn room, looking tired after having operated on Red for hours. Scout looked up to see the two Germans standing in the room. Without waiting to hear what the doctors had to say, Scout got up and darted out of the respawn room toward the infirmary, ignoring the loud protests from his teammates. He ran faster than he had ever run before, making it incredibly difficult for both teams to keep up with him as they chased after him.

Scout swung the infirmary door open and stared wide-eyed at his father, who was lying unconscious in a bed, hooked up to a heart monitor that was beeping slowly. His chest was heavily bandaged, the white almost blending with his pale skin. Scout shook his head in disbelief as he rushed to his father's side, sitting down on a stool. The rest of the team arrived shortly after Scout sat down. They stayed back in the room and watched in silent shock. Spy was about to step forward to join Scout before his team's Medic held an arm up in front of him, shaking his head solemnly. Spy looked utterly heartbroken as he stared wide-eyed at Medic, then at Scout. Just by reading Medic's expression, he knew things were grim.

Scout brought a hand up to his father's face, then pulled back when he felt how cold it was. He took his father's hand into both of his and squeezed gently. He gave his father a hopeful look.

"Dad?" he asked quietly. "Dad…please wake up. I…I don't know if you can hear me, but…" Scout took a moment to regain his composure. "…there's something I need to tell you. I've only known you for less than a month, but I feel like I've known you forever. I've lived my whole life without you. Now that I've found you, I…I can't imagine life without you. I don't want you to go. Please…just open your eyes and be okay…please, Dad…I…" Scout's eyes widened in horror when the machine flat-lined and he felt his father's hand grow limp in his hand. "No…No, don't do this to me, Dad! Don't leave me like this!" Scout felt tears pour down his cheeks once more as his breathing began to quicken in panic. "Dad! DAD! _**DAAAAAAD!**_" He let go of his father's hand and buried his face into his father's chest as he clung to him, crying hysterically.

The others in the room felt tears coming to their own eyes as they witnessed Scout's anguish. The men removed their hats and brought them to their chests in respect as their tears fell silently for their fallen friend. As much as they all wanted to rush to Scout's side, they knew it was best to leave the boy be. The only one who dared move was BLU's Medic, but only so he could take Red off of the heart monitor and turn it off. Scout clung tighter to Red as his crying intensified.

"I…I love you, Dad! Please don't leave me! DAD!"

* * *

_All he could see was darkness. He couldn't feel or hear anything. He felt weightless, like he could hop up into the air and fly away. He was confused, wondering where he was and what had happened. He felt alone, like he was the only one left in the world._

_He lifted his head up and saw a dot of light. Feeling drawn to it, he began to run toward it. The more he ran, the larger the light became until it almost enveloped him. Before he could pass through the light, he stopped, seeing the silhouette of a young woman standing in his way. He looked at her curiously._

"_Am…am I dead?" he cautiously asked. "Will I be going through that light?" The woman shook her head._

"_No," she replied, her voice sounding serene and almost sad. "It's not your time. You're still needed among the living. There's someone who needs you still."_

"_Dad!" he heard his son's sobbing voice echo around him. He quickly looked around, trying to find the source._

"_Danny…? Danny!" he cried out. He faced the woman once more. The woman nodded to him._

"_Go to him," she softly commanded as the light behind her enveloped them both, fading his vision to white._

* * *

Red slowly opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling. He lifted his head slightly to look at his crying son on his chest. He weakly brought his hand up to Scout's head, ruffling his hair slightly.

"Hey…" uttered Red softly. Scout lifted his head up to stare at his father in shock.

"Dad…?" he questioned timidly. Red smiled warmly at him. He brought his hand up to caress his son's cheek. Scout lifted a hand up to place it on top of his father's as he leaned his face into the hand on his cheek, closing his eyes and letting out a few more sobs. Red wiped away Scout's tears with his thumb.

"Shh…no more tears, Danny. I'm okay."

"I thought I lost you, Dad…"

"I'm not going anywhere except home with you," said Red confidently. "Once I'm well enough to get out of this bed, we're going home. It's finally over, Danny. You're safe now."

"The whole world is," noted BLU's Soldier. "And it's all thanks to you, Red." Red sat up slightly to look at everyone in the room. BLU's Soldier and RED's Demoman grinned at each other, then looked back at Red. The two began to clap their hands, praising Red. Both teams soon joined in with their own applause, followed by excited cheers. Red stared at the cheering men in amazement, then looked at his son, who was smiling warmly at him. He felt his cheeks flush a bit in embarrassment as he scratched his right temple with his index finger. Scout managed to laugh.

"Quit being so modest!" he teased. "C'mon, you're a big hero!" Scout looked down a bit, then smiled gratefully at his father. "You're…you're my hero, Dad." Red fully sat up despite the pain he felt in his chest. He pulled Scout into a tight hug, resting his head on his shoulder.

"Hearing that from you makes it all worth it, Kiddo," he said warmly. Scout hugged back, being careful not to injure his father further. Red kissed Scout's temple. "I'm sorry I haven't said this sooner, but…I wanted you to know that I love you, Danny. I have since the day I found out I was going to be your father." Scout hugged Red tighter. He was relieved that his father was going to be okay and elated to hear him say those words.

"I love you, too, Dad." The men in the room smiled at the tender father-son moment. RED's Scout suddenly frowned.

"So…is the war over?" he asked. "The Administrator's gone, but we've still got our separate bosses for each team." RED's Soldier cringed.

"Dammit, Scout!" he scolded. "Quit being a killjoy!" Red narrowed his eyes.

"That's a very good and legitimate question to ask, Casey," he commented. "One that we should find an answer to immediately."

"Leave that to Soldier and I, Red," stated BLU's Soldier. "We'll get a hold of our bosses and get to the bottom of this and explain what happened. You focus on resting and getting well enough to go home and marry Scout's hot mama."

"Solly!" squeaked Scout in embarrassment. Red laughed, then cringed in pain, putting a hand on his chest. Scout gasped and gently lowered his father back down onto the pillow. "Dad, take it easy! You just had heart surgery!"

"Your son is right," agreed BLU's Medic. "You need to rest, Herr Red. It vill be some time before you can laugh and move around again vithout reopening your vounds." Red nodded as he slowly closed his eyes to rest. He opened them once more when he felt Scout squeeze his hand with both of his, looking at his son's worried expression. Red gave him an assuring smile.

"You don't have to worry, Danny," he said. "I'll wake up again. I just need some rest." Scout sighed in relief, then gave him a small smile.

"I'll stay with you," he stated. Spy walked up to the two and wrapped an arm around Scout's shoulder, rubbing it gently with his hand. Both men looked up at him, eliciting a larger smile from Scout. Spy smiled down at him.

"And I'll stay with you," he announced. "I know how bored you can get waiting like this." Scout chuckled while Red smirked, holding back a laugh he desperately wanted to let out.

"Then I can rest worry-free," said Red tiredly. He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep. The pain in his chest seemed to disappear with thoughts of seeing his son's smiling face when he would eventually wake up.

* * *

Red woke up to some banging in his room, as well as hushed chatter. He opened his eyes, seeing Scout watch both Engineers and Soldiers setting up a projector and screen in the infirmary.

"A little more to the left," whispered Scout, gesturing in the dictated direction. Both Soldiers moved the projector over a few more inches until Scout gave them the signal to stop. "There. Perfect."

"Danny?" asked Red tiredly. Scout cringed, then looked at his father.

"I'm sorry. Did we wake you?"

"Yes. What's going on?"

"We're going to be setting up a teleconference with Redmond and Blutarch Mann," announced BLU's Soldier.

"Here?" questioned Red. "In the infirmary?"

"You're the big hero, Red! We want you to be a part of this!" exclaimed the RED Soldier.

"Not to mention your skills of persuasion will come in handy for this meeting," added Spy as he came back into the room with the rest of both teams following behind him.

"Is it my persuasion skills, or the fact that I'm in a bed recovering from a bullet wound to the chest as the persuading factor?" questioned Red.

"That might help, too."

"Shh! We're about to go live!" hissed BLU's Engineer. When he cut on the camera and projector, they saw the images of Redmond and Blutarch Mann appear on the screen with the two of them surprisingly in the same room together. Neither man looked exceptionally pleased with the predicament they and their employees were in.

"Could one of you explain to us what the hell is going on!" roared Redmond. "We got a call from one of you saying you wanted a word with both of us!"

"Speak now before I take matters into my own hands!" threatened Blutarch. Everyone in the room looked at Red, expecting him to talk. Red forced himself to sit up – with his son's help – to face the Mann brothers.

"I was not the one who called," began Red, "but it appears I've been voluntold to speak with both of you about the circumstances that have transpired here at Nucleus."

"We've been made aware of Helen's actions and subsequent termination," noted Redmond. "For that – and for the first time ever – my brother and I join together in thanking you, Leon Foyer, for ending her tyrannical reign."

"If you could find it in your hearts to come to a mutual understanding and cease this war, then…"

"Out of the question!" interrupted Blutarch. "I hate this man's guts, and I refuse to give up this war until he's dead!"

"I concur!" agreed Redmond. The two brothers looked at each other, then back at Red. "You said you were at Nucleus, correct?"

"Actually, you did, sir…but yes, we are," answered Red.

"If you've noticed, there are RED and BLU sections of that place," explained Blutarch. "Nucleus was once a base for both of us to fight over before Helen took it over for her Doomsday device. We won't end the war, but we'll cut your wing a deal for all that you've done for not only us, but for the world. If you two can get Nucleus back up and running as a functioning base for the war by your scheduled annual month-long vacation, then we will agree to put your wing in Mission-Only status."

"Mission-Only status?" questioned Scout curiously.

"It means that you will only fight when we want you to. When you're not fighting, you may live your lives however you want on the condition that we can call you in at any time for any reason," answered Redmond. "Do we have a consensus, Gentlemen?"

"YES, SIRS!" shouted all eighteen men at Nucleus, saluting their bosses.

"Then hop to it!" ordered the brothers.

* * *

Throughout the three month period, both teams worked diligently in getting Nucleus back up and running. The Heavies, Demomen and Soldiers handled the manual labor. The Engineers rebuilt the Respawn barrier from scratch and got that up and running. Spy, the Snipers and Pyros managed the supplies and rations of food that they ordered and received from their headquarters. The RED Scout served as the go-between for all of the designated groups, running supplies back and forth and relaying messages.

Danny stayed with the Medics, helping his father with his rehabilitation from his gunshot wound. By the time the Respawn barrier had been finished, Red's wound had already healed. It was more of a matter of getting Red back on his feet and functioning normally without straining himself or damaging his heart further. During his rehabilitation time, Red was able to spend more time with his sun, catching up on nearly nineteen years of lost time.

Two weeks before their scheduled leave, both teams had a joint celebration for not only completing their tasks in rebuilding Nucleus and gaining their Mission-Only status, but also to celebrate Danny's 19th birthday. Both of their headquarters were generous enough to send a shipment of beer to them for their celebration. Each man grabbed a beer (Red had a glass of water) and held it up to toast.

"To gaining our freedom and getting this war in the right direction towards its end!" toasted Red.

"CHEERS!" shouted all of the men as they tapped their bottles.

In all of their excitement and anticipation for their return home to see their loved ones, it couldn't suppress Red's sinking feeling that this was only the beginning of more dangers and struggles to come. Though he couldn't shake the nervous feeling of the eventual train ride back to Boston, seeing his son's smiling face reminded him that everything he had done and everything that he would eventually do was all worth it.

**The End**


End file.
